Spanish Prime Minister says government has nothing to hide over Ceuta migrant crisis
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Pedro Sánchez told Congress he will release all documents on the July Ceuta migrant influx, defended the rapid return of migrants and blamed social-media messages for fueling the crossing.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez addressed the Congress, stating the government has "nothing to hide" about the July mass crossing of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. He announced that a full dossier of documents will be published for public scrutiny.
Sánchez praised the law-enforcement officers who, he said, "chose to defend human life" and highlighted that more than 90% of the arrivals were returned within 72 hours, describing the operation as one of the fastest return processes in European history.
He attributed the surge in arrivals to a flood of messages on social-media platforms encouraging people to cross the border, noting a marked rise in sea-borne migrants coinciding with that online activity.
"The Government has nothing to hide in this matter and I have ordered the publication of a dossier with all the documents so that the public can examine them. Absolute transparency and public access to all documents," Sánchez told legislators.
The prime minister rejected calls for a more forceful approach, emphasizing Spain’s legal obligations and democratic standards.
"Spain is a democracy. You can't grab a human being by the arm and throw them across the border like a sack of dirt. There are laws and treaties that we are obligated to uphold," he said.
Sánchez said no intelligence service had anticipated the crossing and outlined measures taken after a Supreme Court ruling, including increased maritime surveillance and meetings with Moroccan authorities. He noted that no solid proof has been presented that Morocco planned or executed the incident, and he has summoned the Moroccan ambassador over recent remarks from Morocco’s justice minister.
The address came after large protests across Spain, with estimates of tens of thousands to over a hundred thousand participants, and a night of disturbances near the Congress building.