Spain’s CNI warned of Ceuta border crossing plan on July 29; 19 messages remain classified

Gonzalo Sanz testified on Thursday, October 1, before Judge María Tardón at the National Court. He says he alerted his superior, Miguel Ángel Pérez Triano, to the warning received from Spain’s National Intelligence Centre, Euronews reported in an article published the following day.

On Bladi.net : The day before 72,000 crossings from Morocco, the CNI had issued a warning: the judge wants to know who knew what

His testimony contradicts the public account given by the former government representative, who had denied receiving the information. The disagreement led Sanz to resign on September 11: he considered his position incompatible with his superior’s account.

The warning was precise. At 1:52 p.m. on July 29, a CNI agent reported via WhatsApp a call on social media to enter Ceuta “by the fence and by sea” the following day at 8 p.m. An urgent note had also been sent to Moroccan intelligence services, according to documents declassified in September and detailed by EFE.

A phone to complete the timeline

The former chief of staff cites 19 messages and a phone conversation that are absent from the documents released publicly by the government. He agreed to have his phone’s contents extracted. For these exchanges to be included in the investigation, the judge will have to obtain their declassification.

Sanz nevertheless defends the work of the government delegation. According to his testimony, reported by Cadena SER, requests for additional resources multiplied in the run-up to July 30. As early as the 24th, a report he had prepared described a mass entry as highly likely and had been sent to Madrid.

On Bladi.net : 72,000 crossings into Ceuta: Spain had warned Morocco as early as the day before

This succession of warnings is at the heart of the hearings. The judge is seeking to reconstruct the information received by Spanish officials and the decisions they made before the border was overwhelmed.