The National Intelligence Center (CNI) communicated on July 29, that is, one day before more than 70,000 people crossed the border, to the Moroccan intelligence services that it had detected mass calls to enter Ceuta. The Spanish intelligence agency warned of the spread in social media groups with more than 180,000 members of calls to enter the territory. It sent that warning via WhatsApp to the chief of staff of the Government delegate in Ceuta and to the Information Services of the Civil Guard, according to the documentation that the Government declassified this Wednesday.
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An internal note with the subject “Irregular immigration. Early warning. Possible attempts to enter Ceuta during the week of the Throne Day,” addressed specifically to the Directorate General for Territorial Surveillance (DGST), the country’s domestic secret service, and to the Directorate General for Studies and Documentation (DGED), the foreign secret service, reveals that the CNI warned that it had “knowledge of the planning of several calls to carry out entries into Ceuta, both by swimming and through the fence, taking advantage of the celebration of Throne Day.” They specifically pointed to a WhatsApp group and two Facebook groups — named “assault on the Ceuta fence,” “Ceuta Fnideq,” and “Hraga Ceuta” — in which there were thousands of followers who “would be preparing an attempt to enter through the Ceuta border perimeter next Thursday,” that is, one day later.
This informative note highlights posts with messages such as: “Anyone who wants to cross has a last chance on Throne Day at 8, the authorities will be distracted with the celebration and the profiles.” This warning was extended to the Civil Guard Information Headquarters, as well as to the National Immigration and Borders Center (CENIF) ―the same one that drafted the report pointing to the intervention of Moroccan gendarmes sent to the National Court― through this communication channel used to activate alerts, according to sources familiar with the procedure.
The warning to the Government Delegation
Among the declassified documentation, there is a communication from a member of the secret services in Ceuta with the chief of staff of the Ceuta Delegation, to whom it was explained that they gave credibility to the warning. “On social networks, there is a call for an assault on the fence tomorrow at 8 p.m. Taking advantage of Throne Day and that their Security Forces and Corps will be busy. There are two different groups with a total of 180,000 followers. To give you an idea of the reach of the spread,” he said. Immediately after, at 9:34 p.m., an 11-minute call took place between both interlocutors. The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, had already stated that there had been a warning of this magnitude to the Government Delegation during her appearance in Congress, although the institution, headed by Miguel Ángel Pérez Triano, issued a statement that same afternoon denying having received “at any time any report warning of what was going to happen on July 30.”
The Government Delegation of Ceuta’s office had been in contact with that CNI member on the ground since the 27th, according to what has been declassified. The chief of staff warned him that day of an “urgent meeting with city, CNP and GC (National Police Corps and Civil Guard) regarding swimmers. Whenever you want, I’ll inform you.” The CNI member replied: “Well, when you have a moment, we talk,” although it is not recorded that they spoke, since the next day this agent asked for the information: “Good morning. How was the meeting yesterday?”
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Another WhatsApp conversation on that same July 29 took place between a CNI member and a commander of the Civil Guard Information Service. The former called the civil guard unsuccessfully at 1:53 p.m. and immediately wrote: “I’m calling you about the Ceuta situation. We have information about an attempt to enter by swimming and jumping the fence for tomorrow, Throne Day. We have several Facebook and WhatsApp groups encouraging these entries.” At 1:59 p.m., the civil guard replied: “Sorry, this whole issue caught me off guard and it’s not easy for me to fix.” Then, he told him who was substituting him those days and a call of seven minutes and 38 seconds took place between them.
The CNI’s analysis of July 30: “Total collapse”
On July 30, the CNI drafted a detailed analysis of what was happening and already classified it as “the largest mass migrant displacement phenomenon in the history of Spain in the Autonomous City of Ceuta.” The Center stated that in just one day more than 20,000 migrants had entered and had caused “a total collapse” of the State Security Forces and Corps and of the “city’s assistance structures.”
The report detailed that the Supreme Court ruling (of June 29, 2026), which prevented rejection at the border for entries by swimming, meant an “agile mechanism for maritime rescue and return of migrants to Morocco.” In this way, analysts say, “drownings were avoided and migratory pressure was contained.” But the dissemination of the ruling and the swimmers who arrived in the previous days and were picked up by Spanish rescue boats without being returned amplified the messages on social networks.
