Thousands of migrants remain in Ceuta after weekend surge
Around 3,000 to 5,000 migrants are still in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta following a weekend influx that saw about 69,500 people returned to Morocco, authorities said.
Hundreds of migrants set up a temporary camp on El Trampolín beach in the Spanish North African exclave of Ceuta on Monday as local authorities dealt with thousands who stayed after a weekend surge. Spain says roughly 69,500 migrants were sent back to Morocco over four days, surpassing earlier estimates of 50,000 arrivals on Thursday. The official death toll stands at 72 on the Spanish side and 11 on the Moroccan side.
Many migrants said they left the beach because shop closures left them without food, they faced hostility from locals, and they could not travel onward to mainland Spain. Ceuta’s leader Juan Jesús Vivas told broadcaster Telecinco that between 3,000 and 5,000 migrants remain in the enclave and that its two reception centres – one for adults and one for minors – had "collapsed". Local official Alberto Gaitán said the city was processing 862 migrant minors, who are protected from deportation under Spanish law.
The episode has intensified anti-immigration rhetoric across Europe and sparked diplomatic friction within the EU over border policy. Spain’s foreign minister José Manuel Albares said the country had previously supported other EU members during migration crises and now expects reciprocal assistance. He criticized Italy’s government for spreading misinformation and noted that Morocco offered police support without conditions, enabling the rapid return of most recent arrivals.
"Morocco has shown us that it isn’t reliable. There’s no alternative but to put in place whatever means are necessary to ensure it cannot do this again," Vivas said in an interview with El País.
Morocco’s interior ministry attributed the surge to social-media misinformation, human-trafficking networks and a misinterpretation of a Spanish court ruling that halted immediate returns of migrants intercepted at sea. Spanish intelligence services concluded that Morocco did not plan the mass crossing but allowed it to happen as border controls were relaxed during Morocco’s Throne Day holiday.
Spain’s interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said the foreign intelligence agency CNI had not warned him of an imminent surge, a point that caused tension between ministries. Defense minister Margarita Robles declined to comment on any prior intelligence, citing secrecy, and praised the work of Spanish security forces.