Moroccan Intelligence Officers Infiltrated Ceuta Disguised as Migrants

Spanish law enforcement officials identified Moroccan intelligence officers among migrants who breached the border into Ceuta.

El Español reported on this.

The Spanish Civil Guard, a national gendarmerie-style law enforcement force, identified the spies. Moroccan intelligence officers were detected using a surveillance system installed along the border.

According to sources cited by the media outlet, the presence of Moroccan intelligence personnel during such incidents is not an isolated case. The Civil Guard stated that similar cases had previously been recorded during periods of migration pressure on Ceuta and Melilla.

Sources in Spanish intelligence services note that an operation of this nature, characteristic of hybrid warfare, could not have been carried out without the involvement of Moroccan intelligence agencies.

According to the sources, the main purpose of the intelligence officers’ presence was to monitor the mass border breach, collect information about Spanish forces deployed along the border, observe the operational response of security forces and authorities, and track developments on the ground.

Sources in the Civil Guard General Staff linked the current migration wave to diplomatic tensions between Spain and Morocco. In their assessment, two recent factors are behind the increased pressure on Ceuta.

The first was a Supreme Court ruling on the return of migrants at the border, which officials believe the Moroccan government likely viewed as limiting Spain’s ability to respond to illegal migration.

The second was Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s visit to Algeria, Morocco’s rival, which took place only 10 days earlier.

Earlier, Spain deployed its armed forces to restore order in Ceuta. Two hundred special police officers and 60 military personnel arrived from mainland Spain to reinforce the city’s regular forces.

According to estimates by the Spanish Civil Guard, 49,000 Moroccan migrants have already entered Ceuta. The city’s population, by comparison, is 84,000 people.