SPANISH INTELLIGENCE WARNED OF CEUTA CROSSING DAY BEFORE INFLUX

Spain's National Intelligence Service (CNI) issued multiple warnings on 29 July about social media calls for a mass migrant crossing into Ceuta the following day, according to declassified government documents released on Wednesday. The CNI identified WhatsApp and Facebook groups promoting the crossing and informed Moroccan intelligence, the Spanish government's delegation in Ceuta, and the Civil Guard about the activity. One social media message stated: "Whoever wants to cross has the last chance on Throne Day [30 July] at 8 the authorities will be distracted with the celebrations and parades". The warnings indicated around 180,000 people were receiving the messages across two groups.

On 30 and 31 July, at least 72,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into Ceuta, with most swimming around a border fence. According to figures from Ceuta's mayor, at least 100 people died during the crossing. Although most migrants subsequently returned, as many as 5,000 remained in makeshift camps or on the city's streets and beaches. The influx prompted major protests in Spain, with critics blaming the government's handling of the situation.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has maintained that the events were impossible to predict and that there was "no information that conveyed the magnitude" of what would occur. A spokesperson from Sánchez's office stated on Wednesday that the declassified documents showed the prior information "did not make it possible to anticipate the magnitude the crisis ultimately reached". Opposition parties have accused the government of misleading Spaniards about the level of advance warning it received.