Phoenix 24
Competing explanations have turned a border emergency into a test of institutional credibility.
MADRID, SPAIN
A disputed Spanish police report has intensified political pressure on Pedro Sánchez’s government by alleging that Moroccan security personnel actively guided thousands of migrants toward crossing points in Ceuta. According to accounts published by several Spanish media outlets, the document argues that the mass entry was planned to overwhelm border controls and weaken the state’s ability to respond.
The report was reportedly prepared by the National Police’s Centre for Intelligence and Risk Analysis and delivered to National Court judge María Tardón. Media descriptions claim it contains photographs, names and observations suggesting that uniformed Moroccan gendarmes directed crowds while plainclothes agents identified vulnerable crossing routes. These allegations have not yet been publicly substantiated through the release of the complete document or an independent judicial finding.
Confusion increased when National Police Director Francisco Pardo told Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska that no police report attributes the planning or execution of the operation to Moroccan security forces. The contradiction raises fundamental questions about whether different documents exist, whether investigators produced an internal assessment without informing senior officials or whether media reports have overstated preliminary intelligence.
The controversy also challenges the government’s public account of the crisis. Sánchez previously said intelligence services had found no evidence implicating Morocco and instead blamed disinformation networks linked to Russia, Israel and international far-right groups. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares continues to emphasise the role of hostile online campaigns, while other ministers have said Spain must demand explanations from Rabat if Moroccan involvement is confirmed.
Marlaska has requested clarification about the report’s origin, distribution and evidentiary basis. Opposition parties and police unions are demanding resignations, arguing that information relevant to national security may have been withheld. Yet attributing state responsibility requires more than leaked conclusions. Investigators must establish who authored the document, which sources it used, whether the alleged Moroccan officers acted under official orders and why its findings apparently failed to reach the government. Until those questions are answered, the affair remains both a serious accusation against Morocco and an institutional crisis inside Spain.
Detrás de cada dato, la intención. / Behind every data point, the intention.