The Ceuta crisis pits the Government against regional executives over the situation of migrant minors: "Madam President, we regret having to deny you"

On Thursday, the Ministry of Youth and Childhood met at the meeting of the Sectoral Conference on Childhood and Adolescence with the autonomous communities, to carry out the approval of the extraordinary allocation of 25 million euros to assist the migrant minors in Ceuta. However, the Vox councilors from the communities of Castilla y León, Extremadura, and Aragón did not attend the meeting.

In this context, the head of the Ministry stated through her social media that the three autonomous governments sent her a letter rejecting the Government's extraordinary allocation. “Guardiola, Azcón, and Mañueco choose Vox and abandon Ceuta and its president Vivas,” accused the Minister of Youth and Childhood, Sira Rego.

In response to these words, the president of the Junta de Extremadura, María Guardiola, retorted via her X account: “Don't lie, minister.” Guardiola went on to clarify that they have not “rejected the allocation of resources to Ceuta” but rather what they reject is “the abandonment of the Government of Spain to the autonomous city.”

“Now they intend to muddy the waters and create conflict. Creating a controversy with falsehoods will not cover up this blatant incompetence,” accused the regional president. “The obligations of the State are not optional, and their dereliction of duty particularly harms the best interests of those minors you claim to protect. We are and always will be with the people of Ceuta and with the law,” she concluded in her message.

No mienta, ministra. No hemos rechazado que se le asignen recursos a Ceuta.

Lo que rechazamos es el abandono del Gobierno de España a la Ciudad Autónoma. Ahora pretenden embarrar y enfrentar.

Crear una polémica con falsedades no va a tapar esta incompetencia clamorosa. Las… pic.twitter.com/TI98y9xOp9

— María Guardiola (@MGuardiolaM) August 27, 2026

However, the Ministry has published this Friday the letter from the Junta de Extremadura in which the Government of Guardiola indeed expressed: This Autonomous Community informs you that it will not attend – the Sectoral Conference – although it anticipatorily states its rejection, requesting that our negative vote on the proposed agreement and any intention of distributing minors be recorded in the Minutes.

“Madam President, we regret having to contradict you. This Ministry, through official channels, received a letter from the Junta de Extremadura requesting that "its rejection of the proposed agreement" be recorded in the minutes. That agreement was to allocate a credit of 25 million euros to Ceuta”, the Ministry of Youth and Childhood has replied.

Sra. Presidenta, lamentamos tener que desmentirle.

Este Ministerio, a través de canales oficiales, recibió una carta de la Junta de Extremadura que pedía que constase en acta "su rechazo al acuerdo propuesto".

Ese acuerdo era destinar a Ceuta un crédito de 25 millones de euros. https://t.co/ifMQI8UhSM pic.twitter.com/Twm8aHe5Yl

— Ministerio de Juventud e Infancia (@JuventudInfGob) August 28, 2026