Morocco’s Intelligence Services: The Unsung Heroes in Global Counter-Terrorism and Drug Busts

The exploits carried out by the Moroccan services are legion. Thanks to the Moroccan DGED (external intelligence) led by Mohammed Yassine Mansouri, a civilian in a world long dominated by the military, a classmate of King Mohammed VI at the Royal College, the Nigerian armed forces would have, according to an official statement, executed Ibrahim Mamadou, the leader of the Boko Haram Islamist movement on the island of Shilawa in the Diffa region.

After the warming of relations between Rabat and Paris, France has requested the help of Morocco to secure the release of President Mohamed Bazoum, held in Niamey since his overthrow in July 2023. The DGED was in talks with Niger to secure the release of President Mohamed Bazoum, reported Africa Intelligence. This subject was also on the agenda of Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Rabat last fall.

For its part, the DGST (internal intelligence), led by Abdellatif Hammouchi, a specialist in radical Islamist networks, succeeded in arresting Félix Bingui alias "the Cat", one of the biggest drug traffickers in Marseille, in March 2024 in Casablanca and handed him over to France. Relying on the intelligence and essential support of the Moroccan DGST, the Spanish Civil Guard was able to apprehend, this August, the Cameroonian-flagged tug Sky White off the Canary Islands with three tons of cocaine on board.

Over the years, Morocco has become a key partner in finding solutions in the fight against terrorism and for the stability of the Sahel. In addition to Niger, Morocco maintains good relations with Burkina Faso and Mali. Thanks to an intervention by King Mohammed VI, Morocco obtained the release in December 2024 of the four French agents of the Directorate General of External Security (DGSE), held since December 1, 2023 by the junta in Burkina Faso, reported the MAP. A request that Paris had made for more than a year without success. Morocco is thus imposing itself where France is retreating.

While Algeria is losing ground in the Sahel, Morocco is advancing its pawns. But Moroccan influence is beginning to arouse jealousy. "For a few weeks, rumors have been heard. There would be a ’war between spies’ within Morocco, pitting the DGED against the DGST/DGSN pole," Causeur knows, stressing that external services are trying to sow war between the Moroccan services. Is there really a war between the two Moroccan services? In early August, Mohammed Yassine Mansouri and Abdellatif Hammouchi jointly participated in a strategic reflection seminar on asymmetric threats aimed at strengthening inter-agency cooperation in the fight against cross-border trafficking linking the Sahel to Europe.