A Spanish general allegedly ordered all references to Morocco erased from a report submitted to the judge

The accusation was revealed Monday morning by El Español, which cites several members of the unit that worked on the case. General Antonio Peláez Piñeiro, head of Guardia Civil intelligence, allegedly summoned his men last week to ask them to ensure that their report did not follow the same line as that of the National Police.

That earlier document had caused a political storm in Spain. Sent to Judge María Tardón, it contained, among other things, 32 photographs and maintained that Moroccan officers, in uniform or civilian clothes, had actively guided migrants during the 72,000 crossings recorded into Ceuta on 30 and 31 July.

On Bladi.net : 72,000 crossings into Ceuta: Sánchez admits Morocco opened the floodgates for ten hours

According to Guardia Civil sources interviewed by the Spanish daily, their own work initially pointed in the same direction. Officers from the UCE-3 unit allegedly observed, through the cameras of the SIVE surveillance system, the presence of members of the Moroccan services among the migrants.

These elements allegedly ultimately disappeared from the document submitted to the National Court. Information received before 30 July indicating a risk of “mass entry” was also reportedly omitted.

A five-page final report

El Español claims that after an initial meeting with his men, Antonio Peláez went to see the Guardia Civil’s deputy operational director, Lieutenant General Manuel Llamas. Upon his return, he allegedly summoned the team handling the case again. Internal sources refer to “political instructions,” without the newspaper establishing precisely who gave them.

The final report, signed by Antonio Peláez, reportedly consisted of only five pages and no longer contained the references to Morocco present in the preparatory work.

The case above all highlights the contrast between the various Spanish services. The National Police sent the courts a file assigning an active role to Moroccan officers, while the government continues to dispute the existence of evidence demonstrating that Rabat organized the operation. Pedro Sánchez nevertheless acknowledged that Moroccan forces had allowed migrants to pass for around ten hours before regaining control of the border.

On Bladi.net : The CNI had identified 2,000 people near Ceuta; 72,000 ultimately crossed the border

Judge María Tardón is now seeking to determine the exact circumstances of the events of 30 and 31 July and whether they could constitute an attack on the independence of the Spanish state. The conditions under which the various police reports were drafted could now themselves become a sensitive element of the investigation.