Spanish Minister Defends Handling of Moroccan Minors in Ceuta Migration Crisis

In an interview with El País, Fernando Grande-Marlaska stated that the first returns to Morocco of minors after the May migration crisis were carried out voluntarily by the minors themselves, stressing that the government has always complied with national and international legislation in this matter.

To read: Spain Defends Plan to Return Unaccompanied Minors to Morocco, Citing Bilateral Agreement

Marlaska added that with regard to the return of minors, still suspended by the courts, the Ceuta authorities acted in the "best interest" of the children. The minister recalls that these minors are under the guardianship of the autonomous city, "the only one competent to authorize and facilitate their return," specifying that the Ministry of the Interior has only advised the Ceuta authorities by telling them that these returns "could be organized on the basis of the 2007 agreement with Morocco."

To read: Spain Praises ’Real and Effective’ Immigration Cooperation with Morocco Despite Melilla Border Incident

"Morocco is a strategic partner, a friendly and brotherly country with which we share interests," Marlaska also said, hailing the good cooperation between Spain and the kingdom, despite the crisis that opened in April after the entry of Brahim Ghali, the leader of the Polisario Front, into a hospital in Logroño.