Spain refuses to confirm whether its MQ-9 Predator Bs have been involved in monitoring Ceuta since the crisis with Morocco. Asked directly, the Defence Staff neither confirmed nor denied their use.
Spain is toughening its response to Moroccan claims over Ceuta and Melilla. Following new statements by Abdellatif Ouahbi, Madrid says it has directly conveyed to Morocco, through diplomatic channels, its “categorical rejection” of any challenge to its sovereignty over the two cities.
Settled in the Netherlands, Moroccans are watching the Ceuta crisis with a particular unease. Their families once left Morocco to build their future in Europe. Seeing young people today risk their lives to follow the same direction acts as a brutal mirror.
Entering Ceuta is not enough to reach mainland Spain. Migrants who remained in the enclave after the mass arrivals in July are now paying smugglers up to 9000 euros to cross the Strait of Gibraltar clandestinely.
Apple Maps displays several territories administered by Spain and claimed by Morocco as being located in Morocco. This is a particularly sensitive depiction as sovereignty over Spain’s North African enclaves continues to divide Rabat and Madrid.
Irregular entries into Ceuta have nearly tripled since January. But this striking figure does not even include the 72,000 crossings recorded at the end of July: for the second consecutive report, Spain’s Interior Ministry is leaving them out of its statistics.
Spain is further strengthening its military presence in Ceuta. More than 150 soldiers from the Canary Islands Command will join the units already deployed in the city following the mass arrival of migrants from Morocco in late July.
Amid the Ceuta crisis, the Spanish government considered turning to Felipe VI to open a direct channel with Mohammed VI. A minister sounded out the Royal Household about whether it would be appropriate to call the Moroccan sovereign. The idea was ultimately abandoned.
For sixteen years, Spanish justice had been unable to locate this Moroccan man. His arrival in Ceuta during the mass entry on July 30 ultimately changed everything: an incident with a resident led to his identification and brought back to light judicial proceedings dating from 2010.
The European Commission now considers that the return to Morocco of unaccompanied minors who have remained irregularly in Ceuta is legally possible, under certain conditions. Spain has, in parallel, raised to 2,168 the number of minors identified since the mass arrival of July 30.
Officially, Madrid continues to praise its cooperation with Rabat. But according to RTVE, the Spanish government is simultaneously examining the energy levers it could use to deter Morocco in the event of a new migration crisis.
Tanger Med was not yet open when the Spanish press was already worried about its consequences. Twenty-three years later, the Moroccan port has overtaken Algeciras and its name continues to be associated in Spain with the same words: rival, competition, threat.