Spain's PM Sánchez says no evidence Morocco orchestrated Ceuta border surge

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez addressed parliament on September 3, 2026, insisting there is no solid proof Morocco orchestrated the late July border surge that saw 72,000 migrants enter Ceuta. While a Spanish police report alleges Moroccan forces showed total permissiveness and guided crowds, Sánchez defended bilateral cooperation, noting 90% of migrants were returned within 72 hours. However, domestic pressure is mounting; tens of thousands of Spaniards protested on September 2, and opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo demanded Sánchez's resignation over the crisis, which left 141 dead and 5,000 migrants still stranded in the enclave.

Ceuta border surge numbers

• ▪The death toll from the late July 2026 Ceuta border crossing reached 141 people, according to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
• ▪Approximately 72,000 migrants swam and rushed across the border from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on July 30 and 31, 2026.

Morocco border permissiveness allegations

• ▪The Spanish police report noted that Moroccan security forces were deployed in smaller numbers than usual near the Tarajal breakwater and that some officers directed migrants toward the crossing point.
• ▪A Spanish police report commissioned by a High Court judge alleged that Moroccan security forces demonstrated total permissiveness and made no serious attempt to disperse crowds during the July 2026 Ceuta border surge.
• ▪Moroccan Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi stated that Moroccan authorities did not stop people marching toward Ceuta to avoid bloodshed, handling the crisis with sang-froid.

Sánchez denies orchestration evidence

• ▪Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez acknowledged that Moroccan Gendarmerie police allowed crossings to occur during a 10-hour peak period on July 30, 2026.
• ▪Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that Spain formally summoned Morocco's ambassador on August 21, 2026, over unacceptable statements by Moroccan ministers challenging Spanish sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla.
• ▪Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated on September 3, 2026, that no national or international institution has provided solid proof that Morocco planned or executed the Ceuta border surge.

Nationwide protests government handling

• ▪Spanish Youth Minister Sira Rego criticized Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's policy of appeasement, stating it was hard to imagine 80,000 people moving to the border without Moroccan authorities knowing.
• ▪Tens of thousands of protesters rallied in Madrid and other Spanish cities on September 2, 2026, to protest the government's handling of the Ceuta migrant crisis.
• ▪Opposition People's Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo accused the Spanish government of a cover-up regarding the Ceuta crisis and called for Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to resign.

Remaining migrants humanitarian crisis

• ▪More than 90% of the migrants who crossed into Ceuta were returned to Morocco within 72 hours of the influx, according to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
• ▪Approximately 5,000 migrants, including 1,200 minors, remain on the streets and in makeshift shelters in Ceuta weeks after the late July 2026 border surge.

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