Spain is preparing accommodation for up to 10,000 migrants in its enclave of Ceuta, as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez defended his government's handling of a significant influx of arrivals. Sánchez stated on September 14 that authorities were overwhelmed by the sheer number of migrants but denied the situation was mishandled.
During July 30 and 31, approximately 80,000 migrants, primarily young Moroccan men, entered Ceuta. Sánchez indicated that the majority of those who arrived have since been returned to Morocco, with nine out of ten having departed. Accommodation for 6,000 individuals is expected to be ready by the end of the week, with plans to expand capacity to 10,000. The government aims to stabilize the situation by the end of the year and has appealed for patience from the residents of Ceuta.
The prime minister also addressed questions regarding prior knowledge of the influx. While initial government statements suggested no advance warning, 40 previously classified communications were later released. These documents showed that Spain's National Intelligence Centre (CNI) had flagged organized attempts to enter Ceuta by land and sea on July 29, including social media calls for a mass crossing. Sánchez, however, dismissed these communications as formal warnings, asserting that intelligence alerts in Spain are typically escalated into official reports.
He argued that these messages indicated Spanish and Moroccan authorities were monitoring the situation but did not foresee its scale. Sánchez also defended Morocco's role, stating there was no evidence that Rabat had organized or deliberately encouraged the crossings, despite numerous migrant deaths.
Ceuta's president, Juan Jesús Vivas, claimed he had repeatedly warned the central government in the days leading up to the influx, suggesting that better preparation could have mitigated the crisis. Vivas reported that approximately 13,000 migrants, including adults and children, remained in the city and noted that Prime Minister Sánchez had not contacted him since his visit on July 31.
Sánchez spent 25 days on holiday in August but maintained he continued working remotely. His chief of staff's holiday in Japan during the same month has not been denied by the prime minister's office.
