Spain is preparing accommodation for up to 10,000 migrants in the North African enclave of Ceuta following a mass influx of some 80,000 people, mostly young men from Morocco, at the end of July. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez defended his government’s handling of the event, which saw the sudden arrival of migrants over July 30 and 31, in an interview on September 14.

Sánchez acknowledged that the authorities were overwhelmed by the scale of the influx but said the response was not mishandled. “What happened is that we couldn’t cope with the influx,” he said, adding that the government absorbed the migrants and subsequently returned about 90% of them to Morocco. He indicated that temporary accommodation for 6,000 migrants would be ready by the end of the week, with the eventual capacity reaching 10,000, and hoped the situation would stabilize by the end of the year. Ceuta’s population stands at around 84,000.

The prime minister also addressed criticism of the government’s preparedness and initial response. While officials initially stated there had been no advance warning of the crisis, on September 9 the government disclosed 40 previously classified communications revealing that Spain’s National Intelligence Centre (CNI) had issued warnings on July 29 about organized attempts to cross into Ceuta, including a social media call for an “assault” on the night of July 30. Moroccan intelligence was reportedly also alerted.

Sánchez questioned the significance of these messages, suggesting that informal WhatsApp communications were not sufficient evidence of a formal alert. He emphasized that intelligence reports are the standard method of sharing such information and maintained that while Spanish and Moroccan authorities were monitoring the situation, they did not anticipate the scale of the crossing.

The prime minister further defended Morocco’s response, despite reports of at least 141 migrant deaths during the incident. He described the Moroccan authorities’ approach as a pragmatic effort to manage the flow and minimize harm to migrants rather than a passive stance. Sánchez stressed the importance of ongoing cooperation with Rabat, noting there was no clear evidence Morocco had organized or deliberately encouraged the mass crossing.

In contrast, Juan Jesús Vivas, president of Ceuta, criticized the Spanish government’s handling of the crisis during an appearance on a rival television program. Vivas said he had repeatedly warned the government in the days leading up to the incursion and argued that better preparation could have prevented the event. He accused the government of ignoring CNI warnings and noted that approximately 13,000 migrants, including adults and minors, remained in Ceuta. Vivas also stated that Sánchez had not contacted him since the prime minister’s visit to the city on July 31.