Ex-Spanish Minister Sparks Controversy: Calls for Ceuta and Melilla to Join Morocco

"The political response to the border problem is dialogue and not diversion or silence... The Moroccan claim is fully justified...," said Trujillo. Vivas described these remarks as "unacceptable" and "disloyal", coming from a former member of the government. "This shows a profound lack of knowledge of history and the law, as well as a total lack of respect for the inhabitants of Ceuta and Melilla," Vivas explained to El Faro de Ceuta.

"We are and feel Spanish above all else, and the belonging of our cities to Spanish territory is beyond doubt," Vivas insisted. Trujillo, relieved in May of her duties as head of the education department at the Spanish embassy in Rabat, participated in this 1st International Congress organized by the Higher Normal School of Tetouan, in collaboration with the Abdelmalek Essaadi University and the Moroccan Center for Studies and Research in Economics and Sustainable Development on the theme: "Spanish-Moroccan relations: present and future".

Addressing the Moroccan claim on Ceuta and Melilla, the professor of constitutional law stated that "the weight of historical and legal arguments [in favor of the Spanish nature of these territories], which exist and are relevant, requires a political, ethical, reasonable and acceptable response for both countries through open and sincere dialogue".