Spain Points to Russia in Disinformation Linked to Ceuta Migrant Crisis

Spain’s prime minister has linked a mass migrant influx into Ceuta to misinformation about a court ruling, while cautioning that the investigation has not reached a final conclusion.

Pedro Sánchez said false claims emerged after Spain’s Supreme Court decision of July 8 was misinterpreted. The claims said migrants who reached Ceuta could not be deported. According to Sánchez, the information spread through social media accounts associated with Russia, Israel and an international far-right organization that regularly uses migration issues to attack Spain and Europe.

Sánchez emphasized that the inquiry remains open and that the government does not yet know whether any specific country stands behind the crisis. “Unfortunately, we still do not have all the information and the investigation is continuing, so the government must rely only on reliable facts,” he said.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar rejected the accusation and accused Sánchez of lying. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, briefly said Russia was not connected to the migration crisis in Ceuta.

The crisis sharply worsened at the end of July, when about 60,000 people reportedly entered the city in a single day, nearly two-thirds of its usual population. Earlier reports also said about 60 migrants reached mainland Spain on Aug. 19 and that hundreds protested on a Ceuta beach, demanding asylum.

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Unfortunately, we still do not have all the information and the investigation is continuing, so the government must rely only on reliable facts.