Felipe VI wanted to show the people of Ceuta the support of the head of state after the migration crisis caused by Morocco on July 30, when 72,000 migrants swam across the El Tarajal crossing. Unable to travel to the autonomous city due to the lack of endorsement from the Government, Don Felipe received the president of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, in audience at Marivent, the official summer residence of the Royal Family, in an extraordinary gesture, as he is the first non-Balearic autonomous president received by the Monarch at Marivent.
Five minutes before six in the evening, Vivas walked up to the palace, where Felipe VI was waiting for him at the door. The King and the president showed a serious expression, but greeted each other warmly. Proof that the content of the meeting was arduous and that Don Felipe was interested in once again showing support to Vivas, with whom he has maintained permanent contact since the crisis began, is that the meeting lasted more than an hour and a half.
At the end of it, Vivas made a statement to the media, explaining that it was an “encouraging meeting because His Majesty conveyed affection, support, and encouragement to all the people of Ceuta in one of the most critical and difficult moments in the history of our city.”
“That the head of state wanted to convey a message of encouragement, support, and affection to Ceuta is especially relevant. On behalf of all of them, I want to publicly thank him,” said Vivas, who revealed that the King “is committed to visiting Ceuta and will do so, because the King fulfills his commitments, but I cannot tell you when.”
“I have no doubt that the King will visit us, maintaining the constitutional role that corresponds to the King,” Vivas emphasized.
The president of Ceuta conveyed to the Monarch that the Autonomous City “is experiencing one of the most difficult moments in its recent history. An avalanche broke into Ceuta and violated the territorial integrity of Spain and Europe. It is an extraordinarily serious situation; it is not a usual migration crisis.”
“Ceuta has not recovered from that trauma”
A week after the avalanche, “Ceuta has not come out of this situation; there has been a voluntary return of most of the people who entered, but the number that entered was equivalent to the entire population of Ceuta. It is as if 50 million people entered the whole of Spain,” he compared.
“Ceuta has not recovered from that trauma and Ceuta has not returned to normal because there are still between 3,000 and 6,000 people remaining in our city. The reception centers are in a state of collapse. The episode has resulted in a large-scale humanitarian crisis. Ceuta is on edge, the population feels threatened and vulnerable. The people of Ceuta wonder if it will happen again, and it has become clear that our border is in the hands of a third country,” referring to Morocco, “which does not recognize the sovereignty of Ceuta, and that generates anguish among the population.”
Given this situation, Vivas has asked to return to “normality” as soon as possible and has demanded “guarantees in the security of the border, which is the border of Spain and Europe.”
“Ceuta needs a psychological rearmament through a series of actions to stimulate confidence in the future of our city. This is the situation, and we trust in the solidarity of all Spaniards to move forward. Ceuta has problems, but I want to say that Ceuta is not a problem for the rest of Spain. Ceuta has intangible values of great importance; it is an example of love for Spain. Ceuta is Spain to the core,” Vivas insisted during his appearance before the media.
Regarding the future of the migrants who swam in last week through the Tarajal beach, Vivas was blunt: “We need to return to normality by expelling from Ceuta all those who arrived irregularly through the avalanche, expelling them immediately through the Tarajal border.”
For this, he asks for more security resources at the border: “It must be sealed so that security is in the hands of Europe; that is something that cannot be postponed.”
“Abandoned by the Government”
A few hours before the meeting with the head of state, Vivas was with the Balearic president, Margalida Prohens, in the first contact with an autonomous counterpart to seek support to solve the situation in Ceuta. “It is distressing to hear the president of Ceuta confirm that he warned the Government of Spain weeks before about the increase in people crossing the border illegally,” Prohens said in a post on her X account.
On the same social network, she assured that she shares “the concern about the serious situation that Ceuta continues to face after the massive entry of people recorded a few days ago, which confirms that we are not facing a migration crisis, but an attack against the territorial integrity of Spain and a national security emergency,” continued the Popular Party politician.
Finally, the president denounced that “the autonomous communities that make up the southern border of Spain feel abandoned by the Government of Spain while migratory pressure increases. And, while the Government of Spain is on vacation, this crisis remains unresolved and the problem continues.”
