A Sumar deputy increases pressure on Sánchez for remaining on vacation in the midst of the Ceuta crisis: "It makes no sense"

Criticism of the management of the Ceuta crisis arrived this Friday from the political space that the Government shares with the PSOE. The deputy spokesperson for Sumar in Congress and Compromís deputy, Alberto Ibáñez, reproached the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, for continuing his vacation at the official residence of La Mareta, in Lanzarote, while the autonomous city faces the consequences of the massive arrival of migrants recorded at the end of July.

"It is evident that it makes no sense for the President of the Government to continue on vacation," Ibáñez stated during an interview on 'Al rojo vivo', on 'La Sexta'. The parliamentarian believes that the seriousness of what happened obliges Sánchez to offer explanations before Congress and to address the people of Ceuta directly.

In his opinion, the president should first appear before the entire Parliament and then "convey tranquility to the people of Ceuta". Several parliamentary committees are scheduled for next week, which some of the ministers with greater responsibilities in responding to the emergency will attend, although Ibáñez believes that these appearances are insufficient without an intervention from the head of the Executive.

The Valencian deputy has argued that Ceuta has already assumed a burden that far exceeds its ordinary capacities. The response, he demanded, must involve the autonomous communities, the whole of Spain, and the European Union, given that the city constitutes one of the community's external borders.

Ibáñez has called for the reception and inclusion of migrants to be distributed among the different territories, with special attention to minors and those who arrived in conditions of greater vulnerability. He has also denounced the situation faced by the Civil Guard agents deployed in the city, whose conditions he described as "completely unacceptable".

Criticism grows within the left

Ibáñez's intervention adds to the reproaches made in recent days by the federal coordinator of Izquierda Unida, Antonio Maíllo, and by its parliamentary spokesperson, Enrique Santiago. Both have called for a more continuous political presence in Ceuta and more visible coordination among the departments involved.

Maíllo went so far as to state that, if he were in Sánchez's place, he would have traveled to the city until the emergency was channeled. He has also questioned the policy followed by the PSOE regarding Morocco and has accused Rabat of having deliberately abandoned its responsibilities at the border.

Enrique Santiago has also requested that high-ranking officials of the Executive remain stably on the ground to offer security to the population. The IU spokesperson has proposed the transfer to the Peninsula of the migrant people who remain in Ceuta or, at least, of the especially vulnerable girls while each file is studied.

The Government has made a move this Friday by entrusting the Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, with the coordination of the five ministries involved in the crisis. Torres will harmonize the actions of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Defense, Inclusion and Migrations, and Youth and Childhood.

The decision aims to concentrate the political direction of a device that until now was distributed among several departments. The Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations, Elma Saiz, has been in Ceuta since Monday, while Sánchez has chaired two telematic follow-up meetings during August and visited the city at the beginning of the crisis.

Ibáñez recognizes that measures have been adopted, but considers that the political response should have had a "permanent and more coordinated" presence from the beginning. His criticism particularly focuses on the attention received by minors, migrants, and members of the State Security Forces and Corps.

The parliamentarian also accused the PP and the Ceuta Government of raising objections to reception solutions for migrant girls. To defend a solidarity-based distribution, he recalled the speed with which Spain received hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees after the start of the war and questioned why a discussion is now being opened regarding the transfer of around 500 minors from Ceuta.

Ibáñez's criticisms also extend to the relationship with Morocco. The deputy has spoken of an "unprecedented hybrid attack" against Spain and has linked Rabat's actions with the Alawi kingdom's rapprochement with the governments of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu.

The deputy has defended that neighborly relations are positive when there is mutual respect, but has warned that possible "blackmail" from Morocco is intolerable. Spain, he stressed, has the right to defend itself against any attack, maintain its own foreign policy, and demand that Rabat respect its sovereignty.