Civil Guard Tells Judge It Got No Warning of Ceuta Migrant Influx Scale

Spain's Civil Guard has told the judge investigating the migrant crisis in Ceuta that it received no warning about the scale of the arrival of migrants to the autonomous city, according to sources familiar with the document. The report from the Civil Guard's Information Service (SIGC), sent Friday to the National Court judge, does not mention the National Intelligence Center (CNI) or any other specific body, and refers to the usual communication forums permanently open on immigration matters with other security forces, agencies and intelligence services, both national and foreign. The SIGC report states that in the days before the mass arrival of migrants on July 30 and 31, information regarding the possible influx of people to the border that had been captured on social media was shared in those forums.

It then specifies that this information did not correspond in content or scope with the events that later caused the collapse of the border. Civil Guard agents speak of a migrant movement of unprecedented dimensions. National Court judge María Tardón opened proceedings on July 31 and, within that framework, contacted the Civil Guard on August 4 to find out whether it had received any information in the previous days that could have alerted it to what was going to happen.

The magistrate also requested information on the operation deployed by the various Civil Guard units in the territory, particularly regarding rescue operations for people found in Spanish territorial waters, as well as the cause and date of death for any deceased persons and the identity and location data of survivors. The judge also asked the police for a separate report, which the General Commissariat of Foreigners and Borders delivered this week. Tardón asked the police to clarify whether the mass influx of migrants was a concerted action or directed by some criminal organization or group.

In the police report, agents analyze a series of videos and photographs obtained from open sources without identifying the material and intellectual authorship of the assault, but attribute it to a centralized entity with interests other than migratory ones that had the help of members of the Moroccan security forces. As reported Thursday, the National Court Prosecutor's Office has ruled in favor of the specialized court investigating the events due to their characteristics and the crimes they may entail. With the police, Civil Guard and Prosecutor's Office reports in hand, Judge Tardón must decide whether to admit the complaint filed by the Iustitia Europa party and open a case. The Prosecutor's Office supports the National Court investigating the Ceuta crisis.