by Vladimir Dobrynin
[REGNUM] The migrant crisis in Ceuta is gaining momentum: crime statistics are growing not arithmetically, but exponentially, despite assurances from the Spanish government that everything is under control.
Ordinary Spaniards are in disbelief—on September 2, thousands of people rallied across the country, including the capital, demanding the government address the growing migrant problem. In keeping with the glorious European tradition, the 50,000-strong demonstration in Madrid ended in clashes with police and a violent dispersal of the protesters.
Meanwhile, in Ceuta, on September 1 alone, security forces officially arrested 87 people for "disturbing public order." This seemingly innocuous phrase conceals robberies, stabbings, fights, and rapes.
Crime rates have increased by 800% in the month since the crisis began. Moreover, this trend is already going both ways: local residents, according to anonymous sources in El Confidencial, having observed the police's inability (and perhaps even unwillingness) to protect the local population, have resorted to active measures based on the principle of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."
The understanding that a migrant has a priori legal advantage in a conflict with a local, regardless of who actually initiated the clash, long kept ordinary Spanish citizens on a tight leash. However, the fear of prosecution began to be perceived by Spanish citizens as the lesser of two evils compared to the prospect of being killed or at least maimed on their own soil at the hands of a newcomer.
Recently, a group of Ceuta residents once again destroyed a tent camp of illegal immigrants on El Trampolin beach.
The owner of a restaurant near the scene commented on the situation: "The beach used to be crowded with tourists, but now they can't because of the aliens." The restaurateur made it clear that he supports the local residents' efforts to "clean up the area" through less-than-legal means, since official law enforcement agencies are unable to do so.
Tensions are rising, including among the migrants themselves, who recently clashed over space in a refugee center. Police are forced to intervene and fire warning shots.
Incidentally, according to Spanish Ministry of the Interior data circulated in the media, there are no longer any illegal immigrants who arrived in Ceuta on July 31. However, the press is highly doubtful of this information—sources on the ground claim that between five and ten thousand Moroccans are still roaming the city streets, smashing restaurants and destroying shops.
Spanish law enforcement officials record an average of one rape per day, according to European newspapers. However, the details of this report vary widely across media outlets.
The Spanish press notes that migrants are coercing local women into sexual intercourse, while European media outlets, particularly Politico, claim that, conversely, it is the Spaniards who are raping migrant women and girls. This publication's claim, it must be said, is highly dubious, as up until now, for the past month, the entire EU press has been reporting that the invasion of Ceuta was entirely men.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who had long avoided commenting on the Ceuta crisis, citing his legal leave, has finally deigned to take action.
Recently, he announced the government's allocation of €399 million in financial aid to the Ceuta mayor's office. This money is earmarked for strengthening and developing security forces and protecting the state border. Madrid is convinced that it must strengthen the border not only with its own money, but also with funds from the European Union, as the border with Morocco is the external boundary of the entire European community.
Whether Brussels will agree to this (that is, whether it will provide the money) is a big question. The EU capital is very unhappy with Spain's stance on Israel and, until it changes, is in no hurry to open the money spigot.
Sánchez has repeatedly expressed his disapproval of Israel's actions in Gaza. And in the case of Ceuta, he was quick to point out that the Moroccan invasion was not without Mossad's information and sabotage operations, allegedly seeking revenge against the Spanish.
The Spanish Prime Minister added Russia to the list of those responsible for the July 31 attack on Ceuta. Naturally, he provided no evidence. But that's not necessary: ​​Europeans a priori assume the Kremlin is always and everywhere to blame.
However, there are also voices that claim that the reasons for the invasion are not actually obvious, from where the bulk of the European press gets its information.
El Confidencial is pushing the theory that Moroccan intelligence is taking revenge on its colleagues from Spain's National Intelligence Center (CNI), who shared intriguing information with a group of 14 European media outlets. They were conducting a journalistic investigation into the identity of Moroccan intelligence agents and residents stationed in Spain.
In addition to the number of "planted Cossacks" (around 80 people on the Iberian Peninsula and in France alone), investigators have uncovered evidence of Moroccan agents using the Pegasus spyware, which enables wiretapping of the mobile phones of important government officials.
On September 3, Sánchez will answer to the Spanish parliament about the government's actions and inactions. The information about Pegasus gives him additional ammunition to accuse Israel of involvement in organizing and preparing the " beach march "—the program was created by the Israeli company NSO Group, headed by Haifa native Julio Shalev.
Sánchez's report to parliament is unlikely to settle the migrant crisis, as in order to answer the question "what to do?", the Spanish authorities must first determine the answer to the question "who is to blame?"
And the government has problems with this.
The fact is that Margarita Robles, the head of the Ministry of Defense (which includes the CNI), claims that the intelligence agency notified the Ministry of the Interior that "Morocco was preparing an invasion" two days before the events. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska insists that no one informed him of anything.
"Nobody tells me nuthin'!"
The ministerial confrontation only complicates the current cabinet's position and significantly distracts from the search for solutions to the migration crisis, strengthening the opposition ahead of the 2027 parliamentary elections.
The elite continues to squabble, while ordinary people in Ceuta continue to face major problems. Ribs are cracking, blood is spilling, and businesses are collapsing.
| PJ Media adds: |
...sees all, knows all, gets 'em all in the end...involvement or machinations by Elon Musk. Instead, the intelligence points to the Kingdom of Morocco. The European Conservative reports:
According to the details that have emerged, CENIF analysed photographs, videos, and the operational behavior of Moroccan forces. Its officers identified gendarmes guiding groups from Castillejos towards specific border points and individuals believed to be plainclothes members of the Moroccan security services giving instructions on how to reach the El Tarajal breakwater.
The police’s conclusion therefore goes considerably further than Moroccan passivity. It describes coordination on the ground and an operation intended to overwhelm Spain’s border-control capacity within the framework of hybrid operations that are taking place not only on Europe’s eastern flank, but also along its immediate southern border. The report even examines the sequence of the crossings and the rapid subsequent return of many of those involved as factors incompatible with a conventional migration crisis.
With this report, reducing what happened to the work of criminal networks and messages spread online looks more like a government disinformation campaign than an accurate account of events.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of Spain's center-right People's Party, said that "while the police protect the nation, the government is more worried about saving itself and protecting Morocco." A woman could be heard shouting that Sánchez is a traitor as Feijóo spoke, a charge repeated by the leader of the conservative Vox party, Santiago Abascal. He hammered that theme home in his response to the CENIF report, saying: "That’s why we talk about hybrid warfare, and that’s why we also talk about treason, because the government knew about it and did nothing to stop it and is doing absolutely nothing to reverse it." He also declared that Morocco "threatens our national illusory sovereignty, our national security and our territorial integrity."
Sánchez's government is, of course, doing damage control in the wake of the reporting about the intelligence report. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska wrote in a letter to Francisco Pardo, director-general of the Spanish police, "Any such information should have immediately been made available to the National Security Council... and to other bodies with powers in this field." The Financial Times reports that the Interior Ministry said Pardo insisted that "there is no police report attributing to the Moroccan security forces the planning or execution of what occurred in Ceuta on July 30 and 31."
But there is an important caveat: Pardo had no prior knowledge of the report. As the Financial Times explains, "The ministry said a judge had ordered police Sherlocks not to provide their superiors with any information about the probe reported by El Español, meaning the police chief had no prior knowledge of it. The ministry did not provide any information about the contents of the investigation report or seek to rebut any specific details."
As it happens, September 2 is Ceuta Day, an annual celebration commemorating the city's history. In a video published Wednesday, Sánchez promised "dignified care for those who have arrived" and said Ceuta's residents have shown "serenity, solidarity, coexistence, and responsibility" (emphasis mine).
Contrast that message with that of Ceuta's regional leader, Juan Jesús Vivas of the PP, who said on Wednesday: "What happened to us was not a migratory crisis. What happened was the violation of Spain's territorial integrity."