Spain Admits Floating Barrier for Ceuta Was Under Review Before Migrant Crisis

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska admitted Tuesday that his department was already evaluating a floating barrier for Ceuta before last week's mass migrant crossing, but it wasn't deployed in time. Speaking to reporters, he questioned the CNI's effectiveness, saying no intelligence service warned him of the influx of some 72,000 people who crossed irregularly from Morocco. "If there had been any possibility that something like this could happen... there would have been a report or a warning to the highest instances, he said.

He expressed "confidence" in the CNI's work but justified no dismissals, saying "there are many things that happen and there doesn't necessarily have to be any responsibility. Defense Minister Margarita Robles, who oversees the CNI, said all intelligence departments do "exceptional work, avoiding direct criticism. Marlaska noted the Supreme Court's July 8 ruling banning hot returns may have encouraged the influx, and that a 500-meter inflatable barrier was deployed within 24 hours of Prime Minister Sánchez's July 31 visit to Ceuta. He said entries have "completely stopped since similar barriers were installed in Melilla.