Spanish intelligence warned of Ceuta mass crossing plans before surge

Declassified documents show that Spanish and Moroccan authorities were alerted to social media calls for a mass migrant crossing into Ceuta just one day before tens of thousands of people entered the territory. The National Intelligence Service (CNI) told Moroccan and Ceuta authorities on July 29 that social media groups were encouraging migrants to cross the following day. The CNI warned that around 180,000 people were receiving these messages, with one warning that 'Whoever wants to cross has the last chance on Throne Day [30 July] at 8 the authorities will be distracted with the celebrations and parades'. This warning was part of a larger tranche of security documents linked to the Ceuta crossing that the government declassified. The documents show that at least 72,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into Ceuta on July 30 and 31, resulting in at least 100 deaths and 5,000 migrants still in makeshift camps or sleeping on the city's streets and beaches. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has insisted that the events of July 30 were impossible to predict, but opposition parties claim the documents show the government misled Spaniards. Sanchez had previously told parliament that there was 'no information that conveyed the magnitude' of the crisis on the last two days of July. The revelations have led to accusations that the government failed to give the full story of the migrant influx. The government declassified the documents amid mounting pressure on Sánchez over his handling of the crisis. Earlier this month, a leaked Spanish police report seemed to implicate Moroccan police in the incident, but Sánchez has maintained that there is no evidence suggesting Moroccan complicity.