Morocco's foreign ministry said there was no evidence showing Moroccan authorities were involved when more than 70,000 people crossed into Ceuta on 30 and 31 July. The response followed the release of documents showing that Spanish intelligence had warned both Moroccan and Ceuta authorities in advance. Rabat also asked why the migrants had not been returned.
Morocco's foreign ministry said no evidence, facts or reports established that Moroccan authorities were involved when more than 70,000 people crossed into Ceuta, the Spanish city on the North African coast, on 30 and 31 July. The ministry said Morocco rejected being used as a political pawn. It also asked Spanish authorities why the migrants had not been returned and why unaccompanied children remained separated from their families.[1]
According to declassified Spanish documents, the National Intelligence Centre, or CNI, informed both Moroccan and Ceuta authorities on 29 July that social-media groups were urging migrants to cross the following day. About 180,000 people were said to be receiving messages describing crossings by swimming or over the border fence. The documents show that advance information was shared, but they do not by themselves establish that Moroccan authorities organised the movement.[2], [3]
Figures attributed to Ceuta's mayor say at least 72,000 people reached the city during the two-day crossing and more than 100 died; thousands remain there. Spanish opposition parties accuse Rabat of facilitating the crossing, while Morocco points to Madrid's 2022 endorsement of its autonomy plan for Western Sahara as evidence of cooperation. The new statement does not dispute that warning documents exist; it rejects the conclusion that they establish Moroccan responsibility.[1], [2]
