Key facts
- Spanish intelligence warned of plans for migrants to storm Ceuta a day before a mass crossing.
- Warnings were sent to Moroccan intelligence agencies and the Spanish government.
- Social media groups with 180,000 followers were identified as planning the border breach.
- The Spanish government published 40 intelligence reports related to the crisis.
- Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares stated he was unaware of any information pointing to the magnitude of the surge.
Spanish intelligence services warned both their Moroccan counterparts and the Spanish government of plans to storm Ceuta a day before more than 70,000 migrants crossed into the North African enclave. Documents released by the Spanish government show that the National Intelligence Centre (CNI) issued a note on July 29 to Moroccan intelligence agencies, alerting them to social media plans for migrants to scale the border fence or swim around it.
On the same day, the CNI also informed the Spanish government's representative in Ceuta of these plans, according to declassified WhatsApp messages. The CNI noted the existence of social media groups with a total of 180,000 followers, indicating the potential scale of the operation.
Despite these warnings, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares stated that he was not aware of any information pointing to the magnitude of the surge. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has maintained that there is no evidence suggesting Moroccan complicity, though an Interior Ministry report noted passivity among Moroccan border police on the day of the event.
The Spanish government published 40 intelligence reports, alerts, and communications related to the Ceuta migration crisis from July 1-31. These documents indicate that the situation had been developing in the week prior, with Spain's defence ministry noting around 1,700 migrants arriving by sea from Morocco since July 25 and expecting further intrusions.