Sánchez's declassified Ceuta files backfire on Spanish government
Documents released by Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez's office reveal intelligence warnings about the summer's mass migrant surge into Ceuta, undercutting the government's claim the crisis was unforeseeable. Opposition and even coalition allies are criticizing the decision to publish them.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had hoped that declassifying files about this summer's mass migrant surge into Ceuta would vindicate his government's handling of the crisis. Instead, the release has created fresh political trouble, with one of Sánchez's own parliamentary allies calling it an "own goal."
Documents published by the prime minister's office on Wednesday show that Spanish intelligence agencies and security forces issued repeated warnings of a possible mass incursion before 72,000 migrants entered the North African enclave in a single day on July 30. The day before the surge, the National Intelligence Service alerted the Civil Guard and the Government Delegation in Ceuta that it had detected online calls for a mass crossing by fence and sea the following day, noting the groups involved had 180,000 followers combined. Later that day, the intelligence service also warned its Moroccan counterparts of the planned incursion, thanking them for their cooperation.
The files additionally include 18 reports documenting a rise in unauthorized entries into Ceuta earlier in the summer, along with a July 8 letter from the Civil Guard recommending stronger border security.
Government's defense
The Spanish government maintains the documents show the surge could not have been prevented. Sánchez said on X that the reports failed to predict the "scale, nature, or probability" of what ultimately happened. Government Delegate in Ceuta Miguel Ángel Pérez Triano played down the warnings his office received, arguing they did not count as formal alerts since they came via WhatsApp rather than official channels.
Political backlash
Politicians across the spectrum have rejected that framing. Ester Muñoz, spokesperson for the center-right People's Party, said the files prove the government failed to prevent "the invasion and the deaths" and called for snap elections. Francesc-Marc Álvaro, a lawmaker from the Republican Left of Catalonia and a Sánchez ally, said he was baffled by the decision to release documents that seem to contradict the government's account, adding that in other advanced democracies someone would resign over it. He also said the ongoing crisis was damaging the government's standing both domestically and internationally.
