Sánchez Declassifies Ceuta Files Showing Warnings Before 72,000-Migrant Surge
Updated
Updated · POLITICO Europe · Sep 10
Sánchez Declassifies Ceuta Files Showing Warnings Before 72,000-Migrant Surge
3 articles · Updated · POLITICO Europe · Sep 10
Summary
Documents released by Pedro Sánchez’s office on Wednesday show Spanish intelligence and security forces repeatedly warned that a mass incursion into Ceuta could happen before 72,000 migrants crossed on July 30.
The declassification was meant to defend the government’s handling of the crisis, but the papers instead deepened political damage, with one parliamentary ally calling the move an “own goal.”
The files add to earlier disclosures that Spain had alerted Morocco about social media plans tied to Throne Day, undercutting efforts to portray the surge as unforeseeable.
The Ceuta crossing left 141 people dead and more than 10,000 migrants still in the enclave, keeping pressure on Sánchez as scrutiny shifts from the border breach to what Madrid knew beforehand.