El Trampolín and Benítez beach now look empty, with no tents or shelters left. In less than two days, Ceuta’s largest migrant camps were cleared: bulldozers flattened the makeshift huts and crews hauled away 221,000 kilos of debris. The operation began just before Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for general elections and wrapped up less than two weeks before King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia’s visit.
For months, the camps had been the face of Ceuta’s migrant crisis. Thousands crowded the beaches after the mass entry on July 30 and 31, while Cruz Roja handed out meals every day. Earlier efforts to clear the camps had failed. Reports by Euronews and El País describe the clearance at El Trampolín as a process, not a single sweep: it began on October 4 near the desalination plant, with the aim of finishing by October 15. Benítez beach had already seen earlier cleanups.
This time, the plan worked. On Sunday, October 3, police and heavy machinery arrived together and tore down huts made of sticks and plastic. By Monday, the camps were gone. Todo Alicante and Ceuta Actualidad estimated that 3,000 to 3,500 people lived in El Trampolín alone, more than some earlier counts suggested. Authorities also planned to install perimeter fencing after the cleanup to prevent new encampments on the beaches.
More than 1,200 migrants left voluntarily for Morocco during the operation, EFE reported. Lawyers sent to the Centro de Atención Temporal de Extranjeros (CATE) at El Tarajal found no one to represent, and buses intended for 140 migrants left empty. Everyone had already chosen voluntary return. Spain’s Ministry for Territorial Policy said more than 1,100 people were moved to official centers. Some Spanish media reported up to 900 voluntary returns to Morocco, but official documents did not confirm that figure.
After the evacuation, migrants were directed along two basic routes: by bus to the CATE identification center in El Tarajal or straight to the border for voluntary return to Morocco. Around ten buses took part in the operation. Authorities said the process was designed to determine eligibility for international protection or return.
Ten days earlier, Spain’s official in Ceuta, Ángel Víctor Torres, had said voluntary returns were rising, at about 150 to 200 per day. The pace shifted quickly during the cleanup, when police began escorting migrants to the border. National Police maintained patrols to prevent people from setting up new camps in the hills or on the beaches. Ceuta Actualidad reported that several government services took part. Police secured the area and managed the crowds, while heavy machinery dismantled shelters. City crews cleared belongings and trash.
Politics drove the urgency. Elections are set for November 29, and the royal visit was approaching as the government faced sharp criticism over its handling of the crisis. A Sigma Dos poll cited in the report found that 82.2% of people thought the government had not done enough; more than half of PSOE voters agreed. The timetable for clearing the camps was shaped by the King and Queen’s visit, scheduled for October 13, while authorities set October 15 as the final deadline, Euronews reported.
By the time King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia arrive, the migrant camps will be gone. The city looks transformed, but whether the cleanup addresses the underlying issues or merely hides them remains disputed. The schedule put the clearance ahead of both the elections and the royal visit.
