Under intense scrutiny after an unprecedented surge of migrants into Ceuta, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told parliament there is still no “solid proof” that Morocco planned or carried out the late-July influx, even as a police report pointed to serious lapses by Moroccan security forces.
At the same time, Sánchez delivered unusually blunt public criticism of Morocco, calling government remarks about Ceuta “unacceptable” since the crisis began — a rare rebuke of Spain’s neighbour, which lays claim to the North African enclave.
He also revealed a step that could further strain an already delicate relationship: the Spanish government has asked King Felipe VI to travel to Ceuta and Spain’s other North African territory, Melilla.
More than 70,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta from Morocco on 30 and 31 July in a surge without precedent, leaving scores dead — most of them drowning as they tried to swim around a breakwater.
Spain’s leftist government has repeatedly avoided directly blaming Morocco, after years spent trying to improve historically complicated ties that are frequently tested by disputes over Ceuta and Melilla.
But a Spanish police report seen by AFP described a Moroccan response marked by “total permissiveness” that helped enable the rush, including accounts of some officers directing migrants toward the water.
Pedro Sánchez also criticised ‘unacceptable’ comments about Ceuta and Melilla by two Moroccan government ministers
According to the report — based on satellite images, open-source videos and migrant testimonies — police numbers near the border post were “clearly smaller than usual,” and officers “made no serious attempt” to stop the flow.
In his appearance before lawmakers to explain the crisis, Sánchez said that neither police bodies nor legal or international institutions had provided the Spanish government with “solid proof that Morocco planned or executed the incident.”
“If this solid proof existed, we would act accordingly,” Sánchez said, adding: “this government is not afraid of confronting other foreign powers.”
Sánchez also denounced as “unacceptable” comments about Ceuta and Melilla made by two Moroccan ministers, and said Spain summoned Morocco’s ambassador on 21 August.
Moroccan media reported in August that Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi said Morocco had “historic” and “geographical” rights over Ceuta and Melilla, and urged a “final solution” so the territories could “return to the fold of the motherland.”
Ceuta and Melilla — the European Union’s only land borders with Africa — will remain Spanish “until the end of time,” Sánchez told parliament.
While most of those who entered Ceuta have since been returned to Morocco, thousands still roam the small city’s streets and sleep rough, adding to tension among residents who say they feel abandoned.
The government’s handling of the crisis also triggered protests: tens of thousands demonstrated in Ceuta and across Spain, with the conservative and far-right opposition using the rallies to attack Sánchez.
Opposition parties have repeatedly questioned Morocco’s role in the episode and accused Sánchez of acting subservient to Rabat.
Some analysts have suggested Morocco used the migrant rush to apply political pressure after Sánchez travelled in July to Algeria, Morocco’s historic enemy.
Western Sahara remains a central fault line. Morocco largely controls the former Spanish colony, which is claimed by the Algerian-backed pro-independence Polisario Front.
Spain, however, shifted its long-standing neutral stance in 2022 by endorsing Morocco’s autonomy plan for the territory under Moroccan sovereignty — a move that angered Algeria.
Sánchez also disclosed that the government has urged King Felipe to visit Ceuta and Melilla “in the coming weeks,” an unusual public reference to royal plans.
Any such trip could provoke tensions with Morocco, as the last visit by a Spanish monarch to the two cities — in 2007 — set off a diplomatic crisis.
“Ceuta needs to be supported by the state more than ever,” Sánchez said, explaining why the government had made the request.
