From "invasion" to "sexual terror": Abascal hardens his racist campaign against migrants in Ceuta

Santiago Abascal has taken advantage of a new arrest for an alleged sexual assault in Ceuta to collectively target migrants remaining in the city. The president of the far-right Vox has presented them as an "invading army", has attributed to them an alleged "sexual terror" and has demanded that they be treated as an enemy force.

The message responds to information published this Thursday by 'El Pueblo de Ceuta' about the arrest of a Moroccan man accused of sexually assaulting a young woman on Avenida de Lisboa. The National Police reportedly surprised the suspect during the events and Civil Guard officers arrested him after a brief pursuit. The investigation remains open and it is up to the judicial authority to establish what happened and determine criminal responsibilities.

Abascal immediately turned this case into an accusation against thousands of people. "Physical assault on the border, depredation of resources, occupation of public space, looting of homes and businesses... and sexual terror," he wrote. The far-right leader closed his message by asking to treat all migrants as an "invading army", without distinguishing between the detainee, the victims, those who have no criminal record, and families who are still waiting for an administrative solution.

The migrant victims Abascal erases from his narrative

The seriousness of any sexual assault demands a firm police and judicial response, in addition to protection and reparation for the victim. The nationality of the alleged aggressor also does not extend his criminal responsibility to all people who share his origin, as the Vox leader intends to do by using the crime to support his narrative of an invasion.

The balance reported this Wednesday by the High Court of Justice of Andalusia included three proceedings for sexual assaults allegedly committed by migrants who arrived on July 30. Two investigated individuals were imprisoned and the expulsion of the third was agreed upon. The victims in all three cases were migrant women who had entered Ceuta during the same crisis, a reality absent from the message disseminated by Abascal.

The courts had until then decreed the imprisonment of nine migrants and the expulsion of two others for different crimes. In addition to the three sexual assaults, cases were processed for assault on agents of authority, drug trafficking, home invasion, and aggravated injuries. This balance confirms the existence of serious crimes that must be prosecuted, but keeps the responsibilities within each procedure and on each investigated person.

Ceuta authorities estimate that around 10,000 migrants remain in the city, while more than 600 voluntarily returned to Morocco during the last 48 hours after realizing they had no possibility of traveling to the peninsula. Abascal lumps all these people under the same label and transforms a migratory, humanitarian, and security emergency into a confrontation between Spaniards and foreigners.

The far-right leader has also published another message against Pedro Sánchez in which he accuses the president of turning Spain into "the third world," destroying the rule of law, welfare, security, and infrastructure to "crown himself tyrant." The dehumanization of migrants thus once again mixes with Vox's personal offensive against the head of the Executive.

Vox intends to take this campaign to Congress through an accusation against Sánchez for "treason" and crimes against state security. Article 169 of the Chamber's Regulations requires the signatures of a quarter of the deputies, 88, to initiate the procedure and an absolute majority of 176 votes to approve it. Abascal's party needs the PP even to open the debate and would still be far from gathering the necessary support to transfer the accusation to the Supreme Court.