MADRID, Spain – Defence Minister Margarita Robles opened the round of parliamentary appearances on Tuesday for ministers to account for the management of the crisis following the mass entry of migrants on July 30, an event she said must not happen again. During her intervention, Robles assured that the National Intelligence Centre “shared the information with the state security forces and with the government delegation” and offered apologies to those Ceuta residents who may have “felt abandoned or insufficiently accompanied,” while affirming that the government “will not abandon them.”
Defence Minister Robles Declares Ceuta and Melilla ‘Utterly Spanish’
Before the Defence Commission, her initial presentation defended that the CNI carried out the work that is “required” of it in relation to irregular migration, asserting that “they shared the information.” The Defence Minister highlighted the work of the 25 CNI agents stationed in the area, noting that their work is protected by the duty of secrecy, “which is a guarantee for their action,” but which often “operates as a burden by preventing publicity from being given to the actions they carry out.” This contradicts the version given in a press conference by Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who stated that “there was no report that foresaw that what ultimately happened would occur on July 30.”
Robles explained that CNI agents “provide their services and carry out their mission in Ceuta, monitoring the situation in the area daily from multiple perspectives: relations with bordering countries, the geopolitical situation on the southern flank, the actions of organised mafias, their use of networks, the rise and increase of jihadist terrorism and obviously the development of irregular migration, attending to the situation of neighbouring countries, the Sahel, as well as those destabilising actions through hybrid threats carried out by international agents.” Avoiding directly mentioning Morocco, Robles assured on several occasions that both Ceuta and Melilla “are Spain and untouchable,” warning that any violation of national sovereignty will be responded to “firmly,” always “in accordance with the law.”
The minister showed her “pride and recognition” for the work of the Armed Forces and the CNI in the crisis, recalling that the Army does not substitute the State Security Forces but acts within “its own competences as support.” Regarding the nature of these tasks, Robles explained that the Army has carried out “surveillance and presence tasks” on the border and in various areas of the city, with the aim of “preventing situations that could alter security,” also maintaining “an important maritime presence” with the placement of “barriers and buoys” near the Tarajal border crossing.
CNI Contradicts Marlaska, Confirms Warnings Were Issued on Ceuta Crossing
The minister maintained the government’s position since “the assault on the 30th,” which “was based on the self-management of individuals attracted to the border perimeter by the message transmitted on networks of a lack of obstacles at the border.” Robles wanted to begin her intervention by remembering “the people who lost their lives” during the crisis, stating that “almost 100 people died in Spain, on the border and at sea,” while calling for progress “towards a comprehensive migration policy” within the European Union. She also assured that 90 percent of the nearly 80,000 immigrants who entered Ceuta en masse had returned by August 1, meaning the remaining 10 percent still remain in the autonomous city.
