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Spanish intelligence and security agencies had warned of possible mass migrant entries into Ceuta days before thousands of migrants crossed into the Spanish North African enclave from Morocco, according to documents declassified on Wednesday and seen by AFP.
The documents, previously classified, include warnings about attempts by migrant groups to organise large-scale entries into Ceuta.
One report from CENIF, a border division of Spain’s National Police, issued on July 29, stated: “Internal communications have been detected in migrant groups in which they are trying to organise mass entries on the night of 29/07/2026.”
The warning came a day before more than 70,000 migrants reportedly arrived in the Spanish territory.
CENIF also recorded that nearly 1,000 people had swum from Morocco into Ceuta between July 1 and 28, describing the figure as “a drastic upward trend compared to last year” and a “consolidated and priority threat”.
Another urgent memo from Spain’s National Intelligence Centre (CNI), issued on the afternoon of July 29, referred to “several calls to carry out entries into Ceuta” circulating in Facebook groups, including one with more than 160,000 members.
The Spanish government released the 40 documents following growing questions over Morocco’s role in the migration crisis and whether Madrid had received sufficient warnings to anticipate the scale of the crossings.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had previously told parliament, while announcing the declassification, that there was “no information that conveyed the magnitude” of “the crisis we were going to suffer” on July 30 and 31.
Sanchez has also maintained that his government did not receive intelligence that would have enabled it to foresee the scale of the influx, or “solid evidence that Morocco planned or carried out the episode”.
However, questions over Morocco’s conduct have intensified following the leak of a police report last week which pointed to the “permissiveness” of Moroccan security forces during the crisis.
A military intelligence document issued around midday on July 30 said it was “highly likely that the Moroccan authorities are not actively encouraging the migratory wave, but have so far acted in a negligent and passive manner”.
The opposition has accused Sanchez’s government of failing to respond adequately despite receiving warnings and of being too quick to dismiss Morocco’s possible involvement.
“The government knew everything that was happening… They had the information. They are directly responsible for the invasion of Ceuta,” Popular Party parliamentary spokeswoman Ester Munoz told reporters.
The declassified documents are expected to fuel further political debate over whether Spanish authorities had adequate intelligence ahead of the mass crossings and the extent to which Moroccan authorities contributed to or failed to prevent the influx.
