Morocco threw dozens of migrants into the sea from a military vessel so they would have to swim to Ceuta, according to an investigation published on Sunday — an allegation now before Spain's National Court that the government in Madrid is being urged to confront head-on.
The investigation, published by Artículo14, says the evidence is clear that Rabat encouraged and took part in the rush on Ceuta, using human beings as ammunition in what the outlet calls an evident case of hybrid warfare. The facts are under investigation by the Audiencia Nacional, under judge María Tardón.
"Demand explanations — or be complicit"
The report turns its fire on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, arguing that the only unquestionable response from a democratic government to such proof would have been to open a diplomatic crisis — immediately recalling Spain's ambassador to Mohamed VI in Madrid — and to demand accountability, not only for an attack on the "territorial integrity" the president himself acknowledged, but for an assault on human rights that threw dozens of people into the sea, putting their lives at risk.
So far, the article notes, Mohamed VI has received not a single complaint from Moncloa. Sánchez, it says, still has time to correct course, appear before Congress, tell Spaniards the truth and demand responsibility from the government of Mohamed VI — or he will be complicit with a dictator who, the report says, did not even allow the mother of one of the young men who died to bury her son on his own land after pushing him to his death.
141 dead — and Sánchez admits Ceuta "could have been managed better"
The Ceuta crisis, on July 30 and 31, left 141 people dead, according to figures cited by the president himself. In an interview on October 22, Sánchez admitted the crisis could have been handled better: "Without a doubt we could have managed it better."
The president defended the decision to avoid a more forceful intervention against those trying to reach Spanish territory, arguing that more aggressive action could have considerably increased the number of victims. "The strength of the state does not mean inhumane treatment," he said, defending a response that combined border control with the protection of human life.
He also insisted Spain remains one of the safest countries in the world and that there is no link between immigration and crime.
The arrivals have not stopped
The flow has continued long after the Ceuta rush. Between August 1 and October 24, more than 11,700 irregular migrants reached Spain by sea in more than 400 boats, according to Interior Ministry figures reported on Sunday.
The numbers land in the middle of a bitter national argument over migration. Sánchez's government approved a decree legalizing up to 500,000 undocumented migrants who arrived before the end of 2025, a move that has drawn fierce criticism from the European right and from Spain's opposition. At the European Council summit of October 15-16, Denmark led the criticism of the regularization, while Sánchez rejected deportation camps and said the European Court of Justice had already warned about the conditions in such facilities.
The question now hanging over Moncloa is the one Artículo14 poses directly: with a judicial investigation open, 141 dead and a new investigation alleging Morocco's direct hand, will the prime minister demand answers from Rabat — or stay silent?
Reporting based on Artículo14, InfoMigrante, Impacto España Noticias, Cadena SER and Europa Press.