The highest-ranking operational official in the Spanish armed forces visited Melilla, then Ceuta. Officially there to thank the military personnel, Teodoro López Calderón appeared in both cities amid a period of tensions between Madrid and Rabat.
Automotive, textiles, agriculture: 17,000 Spanish companies work with Morocco, and more than 350 have a permanent presence there. After the Ceuta crisis, any sanctions against Rabat would therefore risk directly hurting the Spanish economy.
Pedro Sánchez told Parliament that he had summoned Morocco’s ambassador to protest statements about Ceuta and Melilla. Spain’s Foreign Ministry later acknowledged that Karima Benyaich was absent and that another diplomat had attended the meeting.
Pedro Sánchez now acknowledges that Moroccan forces allowed migrants to enter Ceuta for ten hours on 30 July. However, the Spanish prime minister still refuses to accuse Rabat of organizing the mass arrival of more than 70,000 people.
A Moroccan man who claimed to be 17 and had been taken into care as a minor in Spain has now been formally charged by a Madrid judge. Medical examinations revealed that he was in fact well over 18. He is suspected of sexually assaulting a teenage girl.
Spain has just modified the exceptional measures put in place in Ceuta following the mass crossings from Morocco. A new decree maintains the possibility of mobilizing the army’s surveillance, transport and communications resources, but changes several facilities that may be used.
Spain could go so far as to reconsider its participation in hosting the 2030 World Cup if FIFA awards the final to Morocco. The possibility has been raised by the Spanish press as Rafael Louzán insistently demands the last match for his country.
Plainclothes men allegedly directed Moroccan police officers on the ground during the 72,000 crossings into Sebta at the end of July. This is one of the most explosive conclusions of a report by the Spanish National Police now submitted to the courts.
Italy checked more than 180,000 travelers arriving from Spain in August after the Ceuta crisis. In the end, only 31 people were turned away at the Italian border, including eight Moroccan nationals. Rome has nevertheless just extended its checks.
An Israeli Air Force Boeing 707 used Moroccan airspace while avoiding Spain on its return to Israel. The aircraft had already followed practically the same route on its outbound journey, when it was carrying a relief mission sent to Colombia.
Morocco is reportedly rapidly strengthening its air defenses in the north of the country. Radars, artillery and anti-aircraft systems are said to be deployed to form a “bubble” whose coverage could, according to a Spanish military source, reach southern Spain.
A former head of Spanish military intelligence claims that his country could neutralize Morocco within 24 hours if Rabat attacked Ceuta. Aircraft, ships, ports, airports and communications would be targeted in a retaliation that would go far beyond defending the enclave.