Giant chaos at the Moroccan border

The year 2026 begins with raw nerves at the Tarajal border crossing. While fluidity is the norm for entering Morocco, the return route to Ceuta has become a real trap for vehicles and motorcycles. Scenes of endless queues were repeated throughout January 1st, forcing travelers to extreme patience. This paralysis is the direct consequence of the modernization project launched by Morocco to adapt its infrastructure to the requirements of the future "smart border", similar to the developments already carried out on the Spanish side.

The current configuration creates an inevitable bottleneck. The work has led to the closure of the lower area to vehicles, concentrating the entire flow on the upper area. This has been reorganized into six lanes: three for entering Morocco, three for exiting. The authorities warn that the situation will persist: as soon as the lower part is renovated, the construction site will shift to the upper part, leaving months of hardship for border residents and tourists.

Anger is rising in the face of these recurring blockages, with some black days even recording record waiting times of up to ten hours, leading local entities to seize the Ombudsman. To add to the exasperation, customs officers maintain a strict application of the rules: the traveler regime has still not been restored, making it impossible to pass the slightest grocery bag or basic products to the enclave, even after hours of queuing.