Spain Tracked Moroccan Navy Communications Near Ceuta but Withheld Reports
The Spanish army tracked Moroccan warships near Ceuta during the July crisis. But reports compiled by an electronic warfare unit are missing from the documents Madrid made public. New revelations have reignited the controversy.
What did the Spanish army actually record during the incursions by Moroccan military vessels near Ceuta? Madrid has detailed reports on these operations but has not made them public. According to military officials interviewed by El Español, the movements of Royal Navy vessels were tracked on 30 and 31 July by Electronic Warfare Regiment No. 32 (REW-32). The unit passed its observations up the military chain of command, but its reports on the Moroccan vessels do not appear among the 40 documents declassified by the Spanish government.
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The surveillance was not based solely on observing the vessels. Based in Dos Hermanas, near Seville, REW-32 has a battalion in Algeciras, tasked in particular with monitoring the Strait of Gibraltar. From this strategic position, its personnel are said to have intercepted radio communications, electronic signals and navigation data that made it possible to track the movements of Moroccan vessels.
The information gathered was sent to the Spanish army’s Situation Centre, in coordination with the Armed Forces Intelligence Centre (CIFAS). According to El Español’s military sources, reports compiled during the crisis described the movements of the frigate Mohammed VI and several patrol boats in waters around Ceuta claimed by Madrid.
One alert made public, naval reports missing
The contrast with the official documents is striking. On 9 September, the Spanish government made public 40 reports, alerts and communications concerning the Ceuta crisis. In the file, available on the Moncloa’s official website, only one REW-32 document appears: a note titled “SIGINTREP 01/2026,” sent to military intelligence on 30 July at 12:06 p.m.
The note referred to a mass influx of migrants as “very likely” on the occasion of Morocco’s Throne Day. It did not detail the naval manoeuvres. Reports on Royal Navy vessels, which military officials interviewed say were compiled during the two days of the crisis, are absent from the government release.
Nor would this be the first omission involving the unit. As early as September, the Spanish outlet The Objective revealed the existence of another REW-32 note. It reported intercepted communications between Moroccan agents discussing a possible mass influx into Ceuta several days before the events. That document was also missing from the published list.
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These revelations take on particular significance after Pedro Sánchez acknowledged the naval incursions. The Spanish prime minister confirmed on Monday, 12 October, that Moroccan vessels had entered waters claimed by Spain, while playing down the incident. He said exchanges between the two countries had resolved a situation that arose during an especially difficult few days.
The question of the military documents remains. In an address to Parliament on 3 September, Pedro Sánchez had promised to make information about the crisis accessible in the interests of transparency. The government published the documents it had selected, but not the naval surveillance reports described by El Español.