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Spain’s intelligence agency alerted authorities to widespread social media campaigns orchestrating a mass border breach into the North African exclave of Ceuta just one day prior to tens of thousands of migrants entering the territory, newly declassified official records indicate.
The disclosure follows the release of more than 40 confidential security files by the Spanish administration, which has faced sustained pressure from political rivals and civic groups accusing the executive of concealing key details surrounding the handling of the border emergency.
According to the unsealed records, the National Intelligence Service, known as the CNI, communicated with both Moroccan intelligence counterparts and local officials in Ceuta on 29 July. The agency reported that structured online groups were actively mobilizing individuals to execute a coordinated border surge scheduled for the following morning.
Digital surveillance conducted by Spanish intelligence uncovered widespread messaging across platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook, where organizers urged migrants to reach the Spanish territory by swimming around coastal barriers or storming the perimeter fence.
Intelligence analysts discovered that these online broadcasts reached an estimated audience of roughly 180,000 individuals. One specific communication circulated across the networks stressed that the annual Throne Day holiday on 30 July offered a prime window at 8:00 AM, advising participants that security forces would be preoccupied with official parades and commemorative festivities.
In addition to alerting Moroccan officials, the CNI disseminated text notifications directly to the central government’s administrative delegation in Ceuta, as well as operational units of the Civil Guard stationed in the autonomous city.
Despite these advanced communications, at least 72,000 migrants managed to cross the border from Morocco into Ceuta across 30 and 31 July. The overwhelming majority navigated the maritime route by swimming around the fortified border fencing that separates the exclave from Moroccan territory.
The mass crossing carried severe human casualties, with municipal records confirmed by Ceuta’s mayor indicating that at least 100 individuals drowned or lost their lives while attempting to navigate the waters during the surge.
While the majority of those who entered subsequently returned across the border, an estimated 5,000 individuals continue to inhabit informal settlements, beaches, and public thoroughfares throughout the autonomous enclave. The enduring presence of the migrants has generated visible local unrest, with community members expressing public safety anxieties, while some residents have dismantled makeshift shelters and obstructed humanitarian relief distributions.
The revelation of the CNI’s prior awareness has intensified the political controversy surrounding Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The Spanish leader had previously addressed parliament to maintain that the episode was entirely unforeseeable, insisting that no preliminary intelligence had conveyed the monumental scale of the crisis that unfolded at the end of July.
Appearing on national television shortly before the official declassification of the security papers, the prime minister reiterated his stance, stating that the sheer volume of arrivals could not have been anticipated. Sánchez also dismissed suggestions of Moroccan state involvement, despite a previously leaked internal police report that had pointed toward potential complicity among Moroccan law enforcement agencies.
Opposition leaders quickly seized upon the declassified material to accuse the government of misleading the public. Ester Muñoz, a prominent representative of the conservative People's Party, asserted that the administration possessed actionable intelligence ahead of time and argued that the executive bears direct accountability for the breach and the resulting loss of life.
Condemnation was echoed by Jorge Buxadé of the far-right Vox party, who published remarks demanding that the prime minister and members of his administration be brought before the Supreme Court to answer allegations of treason and compromises to national security.
In response to the mounting criticism, central government representatives maintained that their response was commensurate with the assessments at hand. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares insisted that he was unaware of any pre-existing security briefing capable of predicting the precise volume and severity of the 30 July influx.
Addressing the specific communications referenced in the intelligence files, Miguel Ángel Pérez Triano, the central government’s delegate in Ceuta, stated that the text messages transmitted to his office on 29 July represented an informal operational exchange rather than a structured security directive or official warning.
A government source further supported this defense, explaining that the compiled documentation demonstrates that the intelligence accessible prior to the event did not furnish sufficient clarity to forecast the true magnitude of the influx or enable the timely organization of an expanded border deployment.
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