Spanish PM rules out Moroccan responsibility in migrant surge

(AFP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday ruled out Moroccan responsibility for last month’s migrant surge into Ceuta, accusing Israel, Russia and the far right of spreading disinformation about the crisis.

More than 70,000 migrants entered the small Spanish territory in North Africa on July 30-31, swimming or crossing on foot from neighboring Morocco in an unprecedented surge that left scores dead.

Some analysts have suggested the crisis may have been a message from Morocco to Spain over disputed Western Sahara after Sánchez visited Rabat’s longtime rival Algeria in July.

Western Sahara is a former Spanish colony largely controlled by Morocco but claimed by the Algerian-backed pro-independence Polisario Front.

But Sánchez told Cadena SER radio that “no intelligence service with which the Spanish government normally cooperates” had suggested “any involvement in one way or another of the Moroccan authorities.”

“We must be aware that this crisis can only be resolved through cooperation and not through distrust toward Morocco,” he added.

While the National Intelligence Center and police shared situation reports with the government, “no information made it possible to gauge the scale, the seriousness of the crisis we were going to experience,” Sánchez said.

“We are continuing to investigate” what happened, he added.

Disinformation

Sánchez also singled out “rumors and disinformation” that spread on social media after the mass entry, which he said were “linked to Russia and Israel, and to an ultra-right international that always uses migration to attack both Spain and Europe and divide it.”

Sánchez is an outspoken critic of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion.

The Socialist leader said Russian and Israeli disinformation surrounding the migration crisis was driven by “the political stances we are maintaining regarding the genocide in Gaza or (President Vladimir) Putin’s invasion in Ukraine.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar responded on X, saying Sánchez was “lying shamelessly” by “accusing Israel of disseminating misleading information.”

“Continuing to spread defamatory lies will not distract from Sánchez’s disgraceful failure to manage his country’s affairs,” Saar wrote.

Experts have told AFP that disinformation on social media helped fuel the surge in the first place by misrepresenting a Spanish Supreme Court ruling and claiming migrants who arrived by sea would not be returned.

Political flashpoint

The crisis triggered fresh tensions within the European Union over immigration and dealt a blow to one of its main achievements, the Schengen free-travel zone.

Italy’s right-wing government imposed border checks for one month on travelers from Spain after the crisis, with Madrid imposing reciprocal controls a week later.

Both governments announced a 15-day extension of the controls Monday.

Although the vast majority of the migrants returned to Morocco within hours, thousands remain in the tiny territory, which covers 18 square kilometers (7 square miles) and has 84,000 residents. Many are living on the streets.

Their fate has become a major political flashpoint, with the conservative and far-right opposition demanding that all those who entered Ceuta, including minors, be returned to Morocco.

Ceuta residents have held regular demonstrations over what they say are security and sanitation problems linked to the influx.

Sánchez said Monday that 6,000 spaces at reception centers would soon be available in the territory for migrants, whose status must be verified by Spanish authorities before any possible return to Morocco.

He also pledged an additional 168 million euros ($195 million) in aid to Ceuta to respond to the crisis.