Leaked Report Fuels Spain-Morocco Crisis Over Ceuta

Spain's government was thrown into deeper turmoil on Wednesday after a leaked police report appeared to suggest that Moroccan forces played a role in the unprecedented mass crossing into Ceuta, putting Madrid under growing political pressure. Multiple media outlets cited a law enforcement document alleging that Moroccan authorities helped push migrants toward the Spanish enclave by sea, acted “passively” during the buildup and concluded that the arrival of around 80,000 migrants was not accidental.

The allegations directly challenge the Spanish government's account of the crisis and have put Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska under renewed scrutiny over his handling of what has been described as Spain's most serious national security breach in modern history. Grande-Marlaska ordered police to clarify the claims.

A senior police official subsequently denied that there was any report directly blaming Morocco, but the denial did little to ease the political storm. Thousands of migrants remain in Ceuta, while protests in support of the city were held in several parts of Spain on Wednesday.

The competing accounts have also raised questions about control within Spain's Interior Ministry and whether parts of the police are leaking information either to embarrass the government or to bring previously undisclosed details to light. Spanish governments and opposition parties have frequently accused one another of “lawfare,” referring to alleged political use of courts or law enforcement bodies.

At the center of the political dispute is the question of what Madrid knew before the border breach and whether warnings about the developing situation were received and acted upon. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is facing his most serious political crisis to date, with Spain due to hold elections in 2027.

Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo accused the government of knowing what was coming and concealing it. “Knew it and covered it up,” Feijóo told reporters.

The Spanish government has so far stopped short of blaming Morocco for the events in Ceuta, where more than 150 people died at sea. Madrid has described the episode as a violation of Spain's territorial integrity and called for solidarity from its European partners.

Instead, Spanish authorities have identified false information circulating on social media, linked to a court ruling, and human traffickers as the main factors behind the mass influx. The European Commission has echoed that explanation and continued to describe Morocco as a “trusted partner” in efforts to combat irregular migration.

A European Commission spokesperson declined to comment on the leaked report, calling it a matter for Spain. Sánchez has also suggested that Russia and Israel contributed to the spread of disinformation, against the backdrop of deteriorating relations between Spain and Israel over the war in Gaza.

Questions nevertheless remain over how Moroccan authorities, who also patrol the border, failed to detect or stop the buildup of migrants. Juan Fernando López Aguilar, a former Spanish justice minister and current member of the European Parliament, said the scale of the movement could not have happened without at least some failure on the Moroccan side.

“That’s common sense. But the government has to act based on facts and evidence,” López Aguilar said.

Spanish ministers have offered conflicting accounts of what the government knew in the days before the border breach and whether intelligence services passed on crucial information. Any evidence that authorities received warnings and failed to respond could have serious political consequences, including renewed calls for a vote of no confidence against Sánchez and his government.

Meanwhile, the situation in Ceuta remains difficult. Around 5,000 migrants, roughly half of them believed to be minors, are still in the city, although local authorities estimate the number could be closer to 10,000.

Ceuta President Juan Jesús Vivas said the enclave was at breaking point and directly accused Morocco of deliberately pressuring the Spanish territory. “Morocco has had and continues to have an unwavering objective: to suffocate, harass and bring down our two cities,” he said, referring to Ceuta and neighboring Melilla.

Vivas rejected the idea that the events amounted simply to a migration crisis. “I think no one doubts that what has happened to us is not a migration crisis. What has happened is that Spain’s territorial integrity has been violated,” he said.

The Ceuta leader has called for all migrants to be returned, arguing that this is the only way to restore normality. Spanish authorities, however, face legal and logistical obstacles. Laws protecting minors prevent their immediate return even when they entered the territory illegally, while local authorities have yet to establish enough public facilities for migrant identification, contributing to administrative delays.

Madrid has also promised its European partners that the situation in Ceuta will not affect the Schengen area's free movement system. That commitment, however, limits the government's ability to transfer migrants to mainland Spain from the enclave as a way of easing the pressure.

With the crisis continuing, Spanish authorities have requested assistance from Frontex, the European Union agency responsible for protecting the bloc's external borders.

Moroccan authorities, meanwhile, have argued that Spain's mass regularization program announced earlier this year may have encouraged migrants to attempt the crossing.