Grouped under the General Command of Ceuta, more than 3,000 Army soldiers are deployed across the 19.4 square kilometers of the Autonomous City. These forces had already received the order on July 27 to prepare for a possible attempt to violate Spain’s territorial sovereignty. As EL MUNDO has confirmed from military sources, on July 28 they spent the day in all units preparing: tuning vehicles and loading their weapons. The order came after both the National Intelligence Center (CNI) and the Armed Forces Intelligence Center (CIFAS) confirmed the call through social networks for a massive swimming crossing.
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This could be further proof that there was knowledge of what might happen, as the soldiers had been anticipating for at least two days that an episode of pressure on the border could occur. The available means were reviewed in the barracks and the material was prepared for a possible intervention. The goal was that, if the order to deploy finally arrived, the units could leave the barracks almost immediately.
When they began to enter en masse between the night of July 29 and the day of the 30th, the available forces, which were many, finished preparing in the barracks, as they thought the order to go out would be imminent. According to several sources consulted, frustration began to grow as they saw thousands of people entering through Tarajal and no one gave the order to leave the barracks. Meanwhile, a few kilometers away, fewer than a dozen members of the Civil Guard were busy organizing the continuous flow of immigrants entering. And in Madrid, the Chief of the Defense Staff proposed to Minister Margarita Robles to give the order to go out around noon. But this step was stopped after a call from Moncloa, the sources consulted report.
The situation caused confusion among the soldiers who remained prepared in their units. On the ground, pressure on the Civil Guard agents increased as entries multiplied, while in the barracks of the General Command of Ceuta the forces continued waiting for instructions. The difference between the size of the available military deployment and the forces that were finally authorized to go out was especially striking for those who experienced those hours from inside the Armed Forces.
At 7:30 p.m., more than ten hours after the start of the mass crossing, when the bulk of the thousands of immigrants had crossed, the Ministry of Defense gave the order to go out to defend Spain’s territorial integrity. But with a contained deployment: only about 300 men and women from the General Command of Ceuta would go out. “The Armed Forces will reinforce the Civil Guard in the exercise of their competencies and those that may be necessary to maintain security in the city of Ceuta. The mobilized forces will be coordinated by the operations command and will support the Civil Guard,” they explained in a note released to the media. At that time, few remained to cross and the streets of Ceuta filled with armored and armored vehicles to maintain public order.
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The order also came when the most critical situation at the border crossing was already behind. The military deployment allowed reinforcing the State’s presence at various points in the city. However, for the soldiers who had remained prepared for hours to intervene, the moment of departure ended a wait that had lasted most of the day.
These maneuvers are ones for which the soldiers living in Ceuta are prepared, as every year they carry out permanent Presence, Surveillance, and Deterrence operations (OPVD), coordinated through the Operations Command (MOPS) with units and soldiers from all operational commands. The soldiers put into practice that day what they have rehearsed so many times. Thus, a section of the Ceuta Tactical Group carries out patrols to increase presence and deterrence. The last maneuvers of this type were carried out last March, when, according to the Defense Staff on its website, various units were deployed throughout the month to carry out exercises. Thus, on March 2 and 3, the Mixed Artillery Regiment No. 30 carried out patrols. From March 9 to 13, the Engineer Regiment No. 7 assumed the deployment, followed by the Ceuta Regulars Group No. 54 between the 16th and 18th. On the 25th and 26th, the 2nd ‘Duque de Alba’ Regiment of the Legion was activated and, finally, on the 30th and 31st, the ‘Montesa’ Cavalry Regiment No. 3 deployed.
The soldiers knew how to work and had been prepared for two days, but their deployment occurred ten hours after the start of the crossing and was insufficient. It was not until the next day that more soldiers were added, around 2,500 who since July 31, when 90% of the immigrants had already returned to Morocco, have been employed in maintaining public order.
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