Thousands of Migrants Swim to Spanish Enclave in Record Border Crossing

The images circulating on social media are powerful and raise a lot of concerns about the fight against illegal immigration, for which Madrid and Rabat are major allies. Coming from the Moroccan beaches south of Ceuta, the migrants faced the waves to find themselves in Spain. There are minors, women, young men who swam or used inflatable buoys or inflatable boats. Others preferred to walk at low tide. According to the authorities, a man would have drowned, reports France Bleu.

A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Ceuta announced that Moroccan migrants, including some minors, were arrested on Monday morning after managing to swim to Spain. Entire families have also joined Ceuta from Morocco on inflatable beach boats. In recent weeks, migrants in waves have tried to reach Ceuta from Morocco by swimming. They gather in groups of 20 to 30. But most of them will be expelled to Morocco. A situation that occurs in a context of diplomatic tensions between Madrid and Rabat.

This record number of migrants who found themselves in Spain in one night would be a kind of punishment inflicted on Spain by Rabat. For a few weeks, the Madrid-Rabat axis has been experiencing some disruptions due to the presence on Spanish territory of Brahim Ghali, leader of the Sahrawi independence movement Polisario Front. Morocco, a key ally of Spain in the fight against illegal immigration, summoned the Spanish ambassador to Rabat at the end of April to express its "displeasure" at the reception in Spain of the man for, it is said, health reasons. Spanish diplomats have explained that when Morocco is irritated, it often has the habit of protesting by opening the migration floodgates.