The leader of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, had secretly traveled to Spain at least six times under the government of Pedro Sánchez, before his admission in April to the San Pedro de Logroño hospital, according to sources from the Spanish intelligence services.
The Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft of Royal Air Maroc (RAM) will resume service in June. The national airline has put them back into its booking system for flights to France and Spain.
Moroccan writer Tahar Ben Jelloun reacted to the new tensions between Morocco and Spain. He stated that "Ceuta is Moroccan land".
The crisis between Morocco and Spain, born after the reception of Brahim Ghali in a hospital in Logroño, is not about to see its epilogue. This Sunday, Arancha González Laya, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, indicated that the leader of the Polisario "will return to his country when he has recovered".
In reaction to the migration crisis in Ceuta and the Brahim Ghali affair, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has just instructed its ambassadors in the 27 European Union countries to "counter Morocco’s diplomatic offensive".
While Nasser Bourita , Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad, has warned against the exfiltration of Brahim Ghali, his counterpart Arancha Gonzalez Laya assures that the leader of the Polisario will respond to Spanish justice.
While Spain has accused Morocco of "aggression" and "blackmail" following the massive influx of migrants to Ceuta, it seems to be allowing a significant amount of drugs to flow. The Moroccan security services, in particular the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN), seized a large quantity of psychotropic tablets and cocaine from the port of Algeciras on Friday.
In Morocco, thousands of people, including journalists and activists, are reacting to the new tension between the kingdom and Spain caused by the emergency admission of Brahim Ghali , the Polisario leader, to a hospital in Logroño, under the assumed name of Mohamed Ben Battouche, of Algerian nationality. They have called for a boycott of Spanish products.
Arriving by the thousands in Ceuta, the migrants pose a real humanitarian problem. Even if some have been sent back to Morocco and others, minors, have been housed in centers, there are still many children and adolescents wandering the streets of the enclave, surviving thanks to the help of the inhabitants.
The Moroccan ambassador to Spain, Karima Benyaich has warned of a likely departure of Brahim Ghali from the Iberian peninsula "in an opaque manner". The Polisario leader was admitted urgently to a hospital in Logroño, under the borrowed name of Mohamed Ben Battouche, of Algerian nationality, on April 18.
Morocco does not weaken in the face of Spain’s "provocations" which, in the face of this week’s migration flow, has summoned the kingdom’s ambassador to Madrid in rather undiplomatic terms. Returned to Rabat "this week" for "consultations", Nasser Bourita considered "it is important to speak directly about the current state of bilateral relations between Rabat and Madrid".
Morocco has benefited from more than 100 million euros in aid from Spain between 2014 and 2019. Aid that has been used to modernize the institutions of the kingdom and to strengthen the education and health systems.