Spain’s Interior Minister confirmed that the vast majority of migrants who entered Ceuta have already returned to Morocco, while maintaining that authorities had no intelligence suggesting a crisis of this scale was coming.
According to El País, Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said Tuesday that 70,000 of the 72,000 people who entered Ceuta irregularly during last week’s migration surge have already gone back to Morocco.
The comments came following an extraordinary meeting of European Union interior ministers, convened in response to the Ceuta crisis. Marlaska described the meeting as absolutely constructive, saying other member states acknowledged what he called the effective and immediate response from Spanish authorities in the face of what he characterized as an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
Marlaska explained that the Spanish government worked closely with Morocco both before and after July 30 in an effort to prevent a human tragedy and stop further irregular crossings. In his view, that cooperation made it possible for the majority of those who had entered Spanish territory to return.
Read more about this topic: Spain: Hundreds of illegals still remain in Ceuta and don’t want to return
The minister also said European partners expressed strong solidarity with Spain and committed to improving the EU’s detection and early-warning systems, aiming to strengthen the bloc’s ability to respond to similar situations in the future.
During the press conference, Grande-Marlaska reiterated his confidence in Spanish intelligence services, pushing back against criticism suggesting authorities had failed to anticipate the crisis. He said there had been no report or warning of any kind indicating an event of this magnitude could occur, describing the situation as extraordinary and exceptional.
According to the minister, the surge appears to have been organized by a network of criminal groups that exploited a self-serving interpretation of a Supreme Court ruling to encourage a mass influx of migrants into Ceuta.
Marlaska also said it became clear during the meeting with his European counterparts that the Schengen area was never actually at risk. He noted that Ceuta operates under a special regime within the Schengen framework, stressing that no one can leave the city without going through effective document checks.
