The Spanish government faces backlash after declassified files reveal a CNI WhatsApp warning about a mass entry in Ceuta. Officials now argue over whether the alert was serious and who was informed. The controversy exposes deep rifts at the top.
Spain’s government is under pressure after declassified documents showed the CNI warned of a possible mass entry into Ceuta, but only sent the alert via WhatsApp to a junior official. The message was not delivered through formal channels. This has revived criticism that authorities missed early signs of the border surge, when 72,000 people crossed in two days. According to official statements, the CNI’s warning was sent on July 29 as a message and a brief call, but not as a formal alert to ministers or the prime minister. Pedro Sánchez repeated this point in his public address on September 3.
The dispute centers on how the warning was handled. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said there was "no report" from the CNI predicting the crisis. Defence Minister Margarita Robles, on the other hand, said the intelligence service did issue a warning. The Ceuta government delegation publicly sided with Marlaska, saying it never received a formal report or high-level alert. This disagreement reflects a wider split, with the Defence Ministry insisting a warning was given, while the Interior Ministry and Moncloa deny it.
On July 29, the CNI sent a WhatsApp message at 13:52 to the Ceuta government delegation warning of calls to storm the border the next day, and later that day sent a separate information note to Moroccan and Spanish authorities about possible entry attempts.
The declassified files confirm that on July 29, the CNI sent a WhatsApp message to the chief of staff for the Ceuta government delegate. The message noted that Facebook groups were circulating calls for an irregular entry during the week of the Fiesta del Trono. It mentioned 180,000 group members but did not specify how likely or large the threat was. No written report was filed, and the information was not passed to ministers or the prime minister. The CNI later said it could not predict the scale or nature of the mass crossing, and that its note was based on activity seen in WhatsApp and Facebook groups.
Moncloa now argues the alert was too minor to require a full response. Government sources say a real threat would have been communicated formally and up the chain of command. "No formal communication was sent to the executive, nor were there calls or meeting requests," Moncloa said, adding that serious warnings are never delivered by instant messaging alone. The Ceuta government delegation supports this view, saying it did not receive a formal report or high-level warning, which matches the Interior Ministry’s position.
As the story gained attention, the government released a CNI statement. The agency said it had flagged social media activity but did not foresee the scale or nature of the mass crossing. The CNI also said it had not made any public assessment of the declassified material and would keep to its duty of secrecy.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated on September 3 that in the month leading up to the border crossing, the CNI prepared two situational reports shared with several institutions, both describing a known increase in crossings and recommending 'extreme caution.' The government has indicated willingness to declassify further materials if needed to clarify the timeline and official response.
Pedro Sánchez addressed the issue directly, posting on social media that the CNI had informed the Ceuta delegation and Guardia Civil about the Facebook campaign, but that this did not show the scale of what was coming. He said such social media alerts are routine and rarely signal a crisis of this size. According to BBC reporting, the CNI also notified Moroccan authorities and local Spanish agencies about the online calls for mass entry, but again stressed it could not predict what happened next.
Despite these explanations, opposition parties accused Sánchez and his cabinet of deception and negligence. They argue the government was warned and failed to act, blaming it for the mass entry and the thousands who remain in Ceuta. The government maintains that the CNI’s WhatsApp message was not a formal alert and did not require escalation.
Moncloa’s position is that the CNI’s message was just one of many routine notifications about online activity, not a warning of imminent mass migration. The fact that the message was not even passed to the government delegate, or elevated within the CNI, is cited as proof it was not seen as urgent. Officials say that if a real risk had been detected, the information would have reached the highest levels of government.
The controversy has exposed divisions within the executive, with Robles and Marlaska publicly disagreeing and the Ceuta delegation contradicting the Defence Ministry. The release of the declassified files, meant to support the government’s version, instead brought more scrutiny and forced Sánchez to address the issue himself. As reported earlier, releasing secret documents was intended to silence critics but has only deepened the crisis.
This episode shows how fragile Spain’s crisis management can be when intelligence warnings are unclear and political rivalries are strong. The government’s effort to play down the CNI’s WhatsApp alert as routine, while also sending the intelligence agency and prime minister to explain it, points to a leadership struggling to control the story. The Ceuta case now stands as an example of how unclear communication and mistrust inside government can stall decision-making at the top. When warnings are filtered through informal channels and political interests take priority, the consequences are felt not just in politics but at the border itself.
