Ceuta crisis 2026

Ceuta border crisis: Spain received no intelligence warnings, says interior minister

Fernando Grande-Marlaska denies secret services warned of mass crossings after 72,000 migrants entered the Spanish enclave

The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, during the extraordinary video conference with his European counterparts. (Ministerio del Interior.)

04/08/2026 a las 15:58h.

Spain's interior minister has insisted the government received no prior intelligence reports warning of the record influx of migrants into Ceuta last week.

Fernando ... Grande-Marlaska said neither the National Intelligence Centre (CNI) nor any other security service issued alerts predicting the scale of the border breach on Thursday.

Speaking after an extraordinary meeting with European Union counterparts on Tuesday, Marlaska confirmed that 72,000 migrants had entered the North African enclave illegally. He added that 70,000 had since been returned to Morocco.

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The minister acknowledged that routine summer assessments had indicated a potential rise in crossings, partly encouraged by a landmark Supreme Court ruling in July that restricted rapid pushbacks for those arriving by sea. However, he maintained that no service anticipated an event on this scale.

"My confidence in the CNI and all intelligence services is absolute," Marlaska said. "That being said, there was no warning, report, or communication stating that what occurred could happen."

He added that had an alert been raised, an emergency response meeting would have been convened immediately to put preventative measures in place.

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The comments follow mounting criticism from opposition leaders. Partido Popular leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo questioned how tens of thousands of people could gather near the border without intelligence services detecting the movement.

Spain's interior ministry confirmed that work is under way to install physical maritime barriers off Ceuta and Melilla to bolster border security and assist law enforcement agencies