At least a dozen illegal migrants who entered Ceuta last week had previously been investigated for jihadist terrorism in Spain before being deported to Morocco, according to EL ESPAÑOL.
Specialists from the National Police’s General Information Commissariat and the Civil Guard’s Information Headquarters identified the suspects while examining surveillance footage, media images, and videos posted on social media over the past week.
Some had previously been arrested or convicted in terrorism cases before being expelled from Spain. They have now allegedly re-entered the country and may be among the thousands of migrants who have not yet been returned to Morocco.
The Spanish newspaper reports that the investigation remains at an early stage, and counterterrorism officers expect the number of identified suspects with jihadist links to rise as more footage is examined.
Spanish authorities have previously warned that jihadists have used illegal migration routes to enter the country. Three members of a cell accused of planning a rifle attack entered Spain by boat across the Strait of Gibraltar before the plot was disrupted in 2021.
Interior Ministry data published in 2022 showed that at least 15 Islamist terror suspects had used human-smuggling networks to enter Spain. Eight percent of the 191 radical Islamists arrested between 2018 and 2022 were undocumented migrants.
Spain’s national security strategies have repeatedly identified illegal migration routes as a potential vulnerability. Official reports warn that terrorist-linked individuals may exploit migration flows to reach Europe and that hostile actors can weaponize mass irregular migration to place pressure on Spain.
Authorities are now investigating whether last week’s influx into Ceuta was exploited in precisely that way.
Spanish migration expert Rubén Pulido said, “Since the Moroccan attack on Ceuta began, I’ve been warning about this issue. The scenario that has unfolded in the autonomous city is a vector for jihadist and military infiltration.”
Several politicians from the right-wing Vox party commented on the report, claiming it to be the latest example of negligence on the part of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
“Jihadists among the Ceuta invaders, the mafia transporting them to the Andalusian coast, and Pedro Sánchez on vacation,” wrote Vox Andalusia President Manuel Gavira. “His concessions to Morocco and his suicidal immigration policies have turned our borders into a sieve.”
“Intolerable,” added Vox MP Ignacio Hoces Íñiguez. “It is a direct blow to National Defense. Their treason attacks our security, territorial integrity, sovereignty, and peace.”
The report made waves across Europe, with the leader of France’s right-wing Rassemblement National, Jordan Bardella, also commenting on the story, claiming it justified calls to suspend the Schengen free movement agreement.
“Leaving our borders open means letting enemies of our civilization into our home: the breach opened in Ceuta by the left’s naivety is a breach in the security of all Europeans,” he wrote. “If we do nothing, the perpetrators of future attacks that will strike innocents in Europe will have entered our home through Ceuta.”
