Judge María Tardón takes over the investigation into the Government delegate for the migratory crisis in Ceuta

The investigation into the actions of the Government delegate in Ceuta, Miguel Ángel Pérez Triano, during the massive entry of migrants from Morocco on July 30 and 31 will now be directed by the Audiencia Nacional. The Court of Instruction number 6 of the autonomous city agreed this Tuesday to inhibit itself in favor of Judge María Tardón and to fully remit to her the proceedings it had initiated regarding the Executive's representative in Ceuta.

The decision comes after the magistrate of the Audiencia Nacional requested to take charge of this procedure to incorporate it into the case she is already investigating regarding the massive entry recorded in the city. In this way, the proceedings related to Pérez Triano's actions will be integrated into the centralized investigation by Tardón.

The Ceuta court will also transfer to the Audiencia Nacional the requests made by Hazte Oír in its complaint and in the subsequent expansion of it. Among them is the request for Pérez Triano to testify as an investigated party, in addition to the preservation of emails, recordings, and police reports. The organization also requested that Gonzalo Sanz, until recently chief of staff of the Government delegate and who recently left the position, appear as a witness.

Tardón is already investigating the massive entry from Morocco

This Tuesday's decision expands the scope of the proceedings directed by María Tardón in the Audiencia Nacional. The magistrate declared this body competent to investigate the massive and irregular entry of people from Morocco during July 30 and 31, provisionally considering that the facts could constitute crimes against the peace or independence of the State, against the rights of foreign citizens, reckless homicides, and criminal organization.

In the order by which she assumed the investigation, Tardón maintained that "we are facing a criminal conduct allegedly committed abroad that has seriously attacked the territorial integrity of Spain, which is guaranteed in article 2 of the Constitution, using for this purpose the massive entry into our country, to which irregular migratory flows have been added that have seriously affected the life and rights of the citizens of Ceuta".

The magistrate incorporated into her resolution a report from the National Immigration and Borders Center (CENIF), which suggests that the entries did not constitute a spontaneous phenomenon. According to that document, during the previous days there was a progressive increase in arrivals and social networks played a relevant role in disseminating the calls. On July 29, the agency issued an extreme risk alert due to the forecast of coordinated entries by jumping the fence and swimming.

During July 30 and 31, different waves of entries occurred which, according to the judicial resolution, exceeded the response capacity of the Spanish border control system. Tardón also points to possible consequences for public safety, health, social services, and defense, as well as eventual international and political repercussions.

The case also considers the circumstances in which the maritime displacement of some of the migrants occurred. The judge speaks of an “absolute disregard for the lives of the most vulnerable people” and notes that some people would have been led to the sea without sufficient preparation, with inadequate clothing and precarious flotation devices. The investigation currently includes 83 accredited deaths in Spanish waters, which Tardón provisionally links to possible crimes against the rights of foreign citizens in connection with negligent homicides.

Another element analyzed by the magistrate is the role played by the Moroccan security forces in the Fnideq and Castillejos area. The order states that “A clear and undeniable management favoring the process from the territory of the Kingdom of Morocco has also been evidenced, on Fnideq beach itself and places adjacent to said space in the city of Castillejos, through the verified and graphically contrasted behavior of the Moroccan Security Forces”. The resolution thus raises the possibility of a permissive action and even an “active guidance” of the people attempting to reach Spanish territory.

Tardón also analyzes whether the facts could fit into a crime against the peace or independence of the State, considering that there could have been an action with an impact on Spanish territorial integrity. At this point, the magistrate alludes to strategies of “hybrid warfare” or “gray zone”, in which tools such as social networks, digital mobilization, and disinformation can converge.

The investigation also includes the possible existence of a criminal organization. The resolution describes a structure that, provisionally, would be formed by different levels: those who made the entries, those responsible for energizing messages on social networks, the organizers on the ground, those who participated in the planning, and those who would have assumed the direction. “That functional distribution of tasks, the temporary permanence of the phenomenon, the observed coordination, and the accredited mobilization capacity constitute circumstances that, at least indicatively, justify the investigation of a possible complex criminal structure,” states the order.

With the decision adopted today by the Ceuta court, the proceedings opened specifically regarding the Government delegate are incorporated into this investigation by the Audiencia Nacional, which must determine both the possible responsibilities derived from the organization of the entries and those related to the response offered by Spain to the previous alerts.