Moroccan customs officers arrested two young French women at the Ceuta border crossing who were traveling to the autonomous city with 20 kilos of hashish hidden in their car.
The flow of Moroccans from Europe using the Algeciras-Ceuta line to reach Morocco as part of this year’s Marhaba Operation has fallen by 19.6% compared to last year.
The Spanish police, in coordination with Europol, dismantled a criminal organization active in Algeciras and Ceuta, specializing in the trafficking of migrants and drugs between Morocco and Spain via the Strait of Gibraltar. The network transported both migrants and drugs on makeshift boats piloted by minors.
The president of Ceuta, Juan Vivas, has assured that the autonomous city, like that of Melilla, has never been a "colony" and that attempting a comparison with Gibraltar is "absurd". TEXTE: "I think it is absurd to look for similarities between Gibraltar and Ceuta, those who do so are mistaken. We have nothing to do with Gibraltar, Ceuta has never been a colony, it is part of Spain, is integrated into the EU and has no tax haven. Trying to find analogies is a crazy, unfounded and senseless attitude, it is a shameless attitude," said the president of Ceuta, Juan Vivas, in reaction to the remarks of Alejandro Fernández, the president of the Popular Party (PP) in Catalonia, who had stated that "the agreement on Gibraltar anticipates Mr. Sánchez’s plans for Ceuta and Melilla: co-sovereignty with Morocco..." According to Fernández, the shared management of access to Gibraltar could constitute a worrying precedent for the future status of the two autonomous cities. With this agreement, the border between Gibraltar and La Línea de la Concepción will cease to exist, thus marking the end of several decades of political tensions between Spain and the United Kingdom. It is a "historic agreement," said José Manuel Albares, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, in a post on his social networks.
Units of the tactical group of the Terrestrial Operational Command (MOT) of Ceuta are conducting presence, surveillance, and deterrence operations not far from the border with Morocco.
Residents of Ceuta traveling by motorcycle claim to have spent more than an hour before entering the autonomous city because Moroccan agents refused to stamp their passports.
A convoy consisting of a yacht, several jet skis, and an inflatable boat crossed the entire southern bay of Ceuta on Monday before returning to Morocco, raising questions from many onlookers wondering if it was King Mohammed VI.
Spain has identified two critical periods for this year’s Operation Marhaba: late July and early August. The authorities of the Iberian Peninsula expect an influx of Moroccans from Europe during these dates.
On Thursday, the administrative chamber of the Audiencia Nacional authorized the Moroccan police officer who requested asylum at the Tarajal border post on May 19, to remain in the autonomous city, while a decision is made on his appeal against the rejection of his asylum application.
Pedro Sánchez will visit Melilla this Monday to inaugurate the new university hospital in the autonomous city. This is the first visit by the Spanish Executive Chief since the reopening of customs with Morocco, which will certainly not view this trip favorably.
A Moroccan police officer presented himself on Monday at the Tarajal border post, between Morocco and Ceuta, to request political asylum.
The Ceuta Ya! party is preparing to question the government about the situation at the land border with Morocco during the next plenary session of the Assembly. The political group will ask what measures the Executive intends to implement to end what they call chaos.