Spanish security services warned of calls on social media for a mass migrant crossing into Ceuta a day before tens of thousands entered the territory, newly released government documents show.
The revelations emerged in documents declassified by the Spanish government amid accusations that it had failed to provide a full account of the influx of migrants.
On July 29, Spain’s National Intelligence Service (CNI) told authorities in Morocco and Ceuta that groups on social media were urging migrants to cross the border the next day.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has insisted the events of July 30 could not have been predicted, but opposition parties say the documents show the government misled Spaniards.
Sanchez previously told parliament there was “no information available to reflect the scale” of the “crisis we have to endure” in the last two days of July.
At least 72,000 migrants crossed the border from Morocco into Ceuta on July 30 and 31. Most of them swam across the border fence, and at least 100 people died in the crossing, according to the mayor of Ceuta.
While most have returned, about 5,000 remain in temporary camps or sleeping on the city’s streets and beaches, leading to unrest in the autonomous Spanish city in North Africa. Local residents have expressed safety concerns, and some have destroyed shelters and blocked the delivery of aid to migrants.
In a note dated July 29, the CNI told Moroccan intelligence that it had discovered groups on WhatsApp and Facebook promoting the migrants’ attempt to reach the Spanish enclave the next day “both by swimming and through [border] hedge.”
CNI reported that about 180,000 people received messages, one of which read: “Whoever wants to cross the border has a last chance on Throne Day. [30 July] at 8 the authorities will be distracted by celebrations and parades.”
He also alerted the central government office in Ceuta and the Civil Guard about the activity on social media via text message.
The messages are part of more than 40 security documents related to the Ceuta crossing that the government declassified following growing pressure on Sanchez over his handling of the crisis and widespread allegations in Spain that Morocco played a role in facilitating the transition.
Earlier this month, a leaked Spanish police report appeared to implicate Moroccan police in the incident.
However, Sanchez claims there is no evidence of Moroccan complicity.
Shortly before the documents were made public on Wednesday, he told Spanish television that “a mass arrival of migrants is not expected.”
However, opposition politicians said recently published materials contradict this claim.
“They had information, they are directly responsible for the invasion of Ceuta and for those who died,” said Esther Muñoz of the conservative People’s Party.
Jorge Buxade of the far-right Vox party said on social media that the documents show Sanchez “and his gang of criminals should be tried in the Supreme Court for treason and security crimes.”
The government continues to insist that it acted on available information.
Foreign Minister José Manuel Albarez said he was “not aware of any report that could have foreseen the scale of what happened on July 30.”
A government source said the released documents “showed that the information available before the mass transition did not allow us to foresee the scale the crisis would reach or to prepare the necessary response in sufficient time.”
Miguel Angel Pérez Triano, a central government official in Ceuta, described text messages the CNI sent to his office the day before the mass transition.
“WhatsApps from [July] 29 is not a warning or a report,” he said. “This is nothing more than an exchange of information.”