Moroccan authorities have blamed the recent migration influx that saw some 60,000 people pour into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on social media and human trafficking.
Last week’s surge was not due to “spontaneous circumstances or circumstantial factors” but a “malicious exploitation of digital space and the activity of human trafficking networks,” the Moroccan Interior Ministry said Sunday in what was its first statement on the crisis, according to RTVE.
Officials in Rabat claimed misinformation spread online relating to a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling, which determined the government couldn’t fast track immediate deportations for migrants who arrive by sea – unlike those who either scale border fences or enter via land.
“Misinterpretations reinforced among some of those who wished to migrate the conviction that it was possible to avoid immediate return,” authorities added.
The Rabat government claimed it deployed a “proactive and comprehensive approach” to the border crisis and vowed it’s a “reliable and responsible partner” when it comes to tackling illegal migration and human trafficking.
Morocco’s blame of internet misinformation mirrors that of the Spanish government. “What has emerged from our talks with Moroccan authorities is that trafficking mafias took a self-serving interpretation of a Supreme Court ruling,” Spain’s socialist prime minister Pedro Sánchez said.
He claimed the view migrants arriving by sea couldn’t be deported “spread like wildfire through the networks of human trafficking organizations.”
Sánchez came under heavy criticism from his opponents after it was reported in April that the Spanish government had backed plans to give legal status to 500,000 undocumented migrants.
Applications were open between April 16 and June 30 and it emerged that 1.17 million undocumented citizens had filed for legal status.
Around 609,000 migrants have since been given temporary work permits and of those, around 160,000 had secured formal employment.
Madrid officials revealed that 81% of migrants who applied for legal status are under 45, and 57% were men.
Santiago Abascal, the leader of Spain’s far-right party Vox, has since called for Sánchez to be prosecuted in light of the border chaos.
“What happened in Ceuta has been an invasion and an act of war promoted by Morocco and allowed by Sánchez, who is incapable of responding because he is subservient to Morocco,” he claimed on X.
Abascal laid out a slew of policies he wished to see implemented including the deportation of illegal migrants back to Morocco, “the permanent militarization of the border” and the “closure of the border crossing.”
He called for Sanchez to be put “in the dock now.”
Miguel Tellado, the Secretary General of Spain’s People’s Party, blamed the Madrid government’s migration policies. “No one can be surprised that thousands of people want to enter a country that regularizes more than a million irregular immigrants overnight,” he wrote Thursday.
“They come with the expectation that Pedro Sánchez will sooner rather than later turn them into Spanish citizens. Not only are we not stopping the avalanche, but we are sending the message that those who come soon will be able to become Spanish.
“The person responsible for what is happening in Ceuta is the President of the Government. One more reason to kick him out as soon as possible.”
President Trump likened the scenes in Ceuta to an “invasion of a country,” while Vice President JD Vance said, “Thank God POTUS was elected and our country’s border no longer looks like this.
“These images out of Spain are an unfortunate reminder of the consequences of mass migration and the radical left-wing globalist policies that have enabled the Invasion of the West.”
Meanwhile Italy has suspended its part in the Schengen agreement which allows free-flowing travel between 29 EU countries, with Spain for one month.
Most of the 60,000 migrants that entered Ceuta have since left.
With Post wires.
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