Spanish intelligence services warned of calls on social media for a mass migrant crossing into Ceuta the day before tens of thousands of people entered the territory, newly released government documents show.
The revelations emerged in documents declassified by the Spanish government amid accusations that it did not provide the full story of the migrant influx.
On July 29, Spain’s National Intelligence Service (CNI) informed Moroccan and Ceuta authorities that social media groups were encouraging migrants to cross the next day.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has insisted that the events of July 30 were impossible to predict, but opposition parties say the documents show the government misled Spaniards.
Sánchez had previously told Parliament that there was “no information that conveyed the magnitude” of the “crisis that we were going to suffer” in the last two days of July.
At least 72,000 immigrants crossed from Morocco to Ceuta on July 30 and 31. Most swam around a border fence and at least 100 people died during the crossing, according to figures from the mayor of Ceuta.
Although most returned, about 5,000 remain in makeshift camps or sleeping on the city’s streets and beaches, sparking unrest in the autonomous Spanish city in North Africa. Locals have expressed safety concerns and some have It destroyed shelters and blocked the delivery of aid to migrants..
In a July 29 note, the CNI told Moroccan intelligence that it had identified WhatsApp and Facebook groups promoting an attempt by migrants to reach the Spanish enclave the following day, “both by swimming and through the [border] near”.
The CNI reported that around 180,000 people received the messages, one of which said: “Whoever wants to cross has the last chance on Throne Day.” [30 July] At 8 the authorities will be distracted by the celebrations and parades.”
He also warned, by text message, the representation of the central government in Ceuta and the civil guard about the activity on social networks.
The messages are part of a tranche of more than 40 security documents linked to the Ceuta crossing that the government declassified following mounting pressure on Sánchez over his handling of the crisis and widespread accusations in Spain that Morocco had played a role in facilitating the crossings.
Earlier this month, a leaked Spanish police report appeared to implicate Moroccan police in the incident.
However, Sánchez has maintained that there is no evidence to suggest Moroccan complicity.
Shortly before the documents were made public on Wednesday, he told Spanish television that “the massive arrival of immigrants was not expected.”
But opposition politicians said the newly released material contradicts that claim.
“They had the information, they are directly responsible for the invasion of Ceuta and those who died,” said Ester Muñoz, of the conservative Popular Party.
Jorge Buxadé, of the far-right Vox, stated on social media that the documents showed that Sánchez “and his gang of criminals should be brought before the Supreme Court for treason and crimes against security.”
The government has continued to insist that it acted on the information available.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, stated that “he was not aware of any report that could have predicted the magnitude of what happened on July 30.”
A government source stated that the published documents “showed that the information available before the mass crossing did not allow us to anticipate the magnitude that the crisis would reach or prepare the necessary response in sufficient time.”
Miguel Ángel Pérez Triano, delegate of the central government in Ceuta, addressed the revelations about the text messages that the CNI had sent to his office the day before the massive crossing.
“Whatsapp’s [July] 29 do not constitute an alert or a report,” he said. “It is nothing more than an exchange of information.”
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