The former director of the CNI questions Minister Marlaska's version of the crisis in Ceuta: "50,000 people don't move without anyone noticing"

The former director of the National Intelligence Center Jorge Dezcallar has questioned this Tuesday the Government's version about the lack of prior information on the massive entry of migrants into Ceuta. "I would be very surprised, honestly," he responded when asked on 'TVE' about the possibility that Spanish services were unaware of movements on the other side of the border.

Dezcallar, who directed the CNI between 2001 and 2004 and was Spain's ambassador to Morocco, based his doubts on the deep knowledge that Intelligence maintains about the neighboring country. "50,000 people on the other side of the border do not move without the CNI noticing," he stated. Interior later raised to 72,000 the number of people who crossed irregularly into Ceuta.

The diplomat recalled that the CNI is considered one of the European services with the most experience regarding the Maghreb. His reflection raises an important difference within the controversy. Dezcallar speaks of the capacity to detect movements, while Marlaska denies that there was a report or warning capable of anticipating an entry of that dimension.

The former head of Intelligence also pointed out Morocco's actions. In his opinion, the mobilization would hardly have reached such a magnitude without the passivity of its authorities, to whom he attributes "negligence or, at least, lack of interest" in preventing tens of thousands of people from reaching Tarajal.

Dezcallar places what happened in the realm of national security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. He also believes that Morocco uses migratory flows as an instrument of pressure according to its political interests. The 2021 crisis saw the entry of about 10,000 people. Five years later, the figure recognized by the Government has multiplied by seven.

Marlaska insists that no one warned

Fernando Grande-Marlaska reiterated this Tuesday his "trust and recognition" towards the CNI, but maintains that "there was no report or warning of anything similar" to what happened last week. The Minister of Interior assures that intelligence services of other European countries did not anticipate an operation of such scope either.

Interior did manage warnings about an increase in arrivals during the summer. Between late June and the second half of July, entry attempts increased, a trend that the Government linked to the summer season and to the Supreme Court ruling that limited immediate returns of those who reached Ceuta by swimming. These forecasts did not contemplate the displacement of tens of thousands of people in a few hours, according to the minister.

Marlaska has described the episode as "extraordinary and exceptional" and rejects attributing it to an error by the Intelligence services. The Government spokesperson, Elma Saiz, also defended this Monday that no document had warned about the magnitude of the entry. Margarita Robles, political head of the CNI as Minister of Defense, has publicly praised the work carried out by the agency during the crisis.

The minister has assured that 70,000 of the 72,000 people who entered Ceuta have already returned to Morocco thanks to cooperation between both countries. Dezcallar now demands a firmer response to Rabat and warns that a new entry could reach 100,000 or 150,000 people if Spain does not adopt measures to prevent it from happening again.