The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has been trying since last Friday to focus on the Spanish intelligence services in the search for those responsible for the massive passage of migrants through the Tarajal crossing. A statement that has caused friction within the Government with the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, and which, according to sources consulted by this newspaper, contains “half-truths.”
Although the person responsible for coordinating the functioning of the borders – the Minister of the Interior – has insisted that no one warned them, there were several reports warning that the Supreme Court ruling on hot returns could cause an increase in entries into Ceuta. Specifically, they warned of the possibility of arrivals by swimming, a scenario that those documents especially emphasized. They even warned that those entries could be significant and very numerous. Marlaska’s argument is based on the fact that no one provided them with concrete figures or the scale of what happened, but, according to sources, “no intelligence analyst in the world can give an exact number of people who will cross a border, nor can they predict the exact day it will happen.”
As two different sources explained to this newspaper, “when one arrives in the morning, they receive reports of what happened overnight in the area of interest. With that data, a document is prepared.” That text goes through up to five levels of control before being sent to the ministries. In those reports, “the tone is very aseptic and suggestions on how to proceed never appear, only what is happening in the area is stated, the situation is described.” The Interior had dossiers warning that the Supreme Court ruling could encourage a massive crossing of people. It also had others warning of the weaknesses of Tarajal, a breakwater a few meters long that is easy to cross by swimming. “If you have your garage door open and I warn you that a thief might enter, but you don’t close it, then don’t blame me for the thief getting in,” they explain with a graphic analogy.
“We knew the crossing was a ‘hair’s breadth’ away, but you can’t predict what triggers that call for them to consider it the right moment, although obviously that it was summer and the lack of personnel at the border tipped the balance towards those days,” admits another person. “If the beach had been reinforced earlier, we wouldn’t be talking about this, because the call was to enter by swimming,” the sources emphasize.
Marlaska insists that there was no “report, warning, or publication” from the CNI about “anything like” the arrival of 72,000 people in Ceuta
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More than 1,200 agents work in Ceuta, including Civil Guard and National Police. A number that, in view of the vulnerability shown by Spain in controlling the Tarajal border, seems insufficient. Last Thursday afternoon, when several thousand people had already entered, Moncloa reported that “to the 60 members of the Reserve and Security Group (ARS) permanently assigned to border surveillance, an additional platoon (20 members) has already been added and in the coming hours two more platoons, with 40 members, will join.” It also reinforced the Citizen Security unit with 30 civil guards and sent eight divers from the Special Group of Underwater Activities to the autonomous city. In total, fewer than a hundred agents from the Benemérita to reinforce surveillance in the area, and not all assigned to the border.
Because the key, the sources consulted maintain, is the fence. The lack of personnel to control the only land border of the European Union with Africa. Added to this is the vulnerability of Tarajal. The crossing has been reinforced with a line of floating buoys, but these seem insufficient if Morocco wants to measure its strength against Spain again.
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