Spanish intelligence warned of Ceuta mass crossing plans before surge - BBC News

Declassified documents show Spanish and Moroccan authorities were alerted to social media calls for a mass migrant crossing the day before tens of thousands entered Ceuta.

Image source, ReutersByGuy HedgecoeReporting fromMadridPublished9 September 2026Spanish intelligence services warned of social media calls for a mass migrant crossing into Ceuta the day before tens of thousands of people entered the territory, newly released government documents show.

The revelations emerged in documents declassified by the Spanish government amid accusations it failed to give the full story of the migrant influx.

On 29 July, Spain's National Intelligence Service (CNI) told Moroccan and Ceuta authorities that social media groups were encouraging migrants to cross the following day.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has insisted that the events of 30 July were impossible to predict, but opposition parties say the documents show the government misled Spaniards.

Sánchez had previously told parliament that there was "no information that conveyed the magnitude" of the "crisis we were going to suffer" on the last two days of July.