Interior Minister Marlaska Defends Intelligence Services and Morocco Following Ceuta Migrant Crisis

Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska appeared before the Congress of Deputies on Friday to address the recent migrant crisis in Ceuta, where 72,000 people entered the city. Marlaska stated that no intelligence service, including the CNI, was responsible for failing to predict the scale of the crisis, asserting that the dimension of the event was not foreseen by anyone. He attributed the mass entry to plural causes, including social media rumors and misinformation regarding a Supreme Court ruling. Marlaska also praised the containment efforts of Morocco, citing figures that show Morocco had intercepted thousands of irregular entries prior to the crisis.

The session also addressed violent disturbances in Ceuta involving attacks by migrant groups on military personnel and the burning of migrant camps by local residents. Marlaska announced the deployment of 40 additional riot police officers to prevent further incidents. While the center-left framing of the event emphasizes Marlaska's accusations that the PP and Vox parties incited hatred and stigmatized migrants, the center-right framing focuses on the minister's defense of the government's intelligence failures and his praise for Morocco. In response to the minister, representatives from the PP and Vox argued that the violence was a result of the desperation of Ceuta's residents due to government passivity.