Miguel Ángel Pérez Triano is set to leave after eight months. Judges are examining warnings issued before the July migrant entry, while David de la Encina is emerging as his likely replacement.
On 29 July at 13:52, a CNI agent sent a warning about a planned attempt to enter Ceuta by sea and over the fence. The message went to Gonzalo Sanz, chief of staff to Government delegate Miguel Ángel Pérez Triano. The court is now examining what happened next.
Moncloa is preparing to replace Pérez Triano after eight months in office. Several reports say the decision could be formalised in the coming days. The Audiencia Nacional is investigating the mass arrival of migrants on 30 and 31 July.
The timing matters.
The change is expected just before Sanz gives evidence about whether the warning reached the head of the delegation. The Government's public line, reported by ARA and other outlets, is that Pérez Triano decided to leave after weeks of intense pressure. It was not presented as a public political dismissal.
David de la Encina is the name emerging as his replacement. The PSOE leader from Cádiz served as mayor of El Puerto de Santa María between 2015 and 2019. He was born in Ceuta. That background could help Moncloa steady the administration while the court dispute remains open.
Ceuta president Juan Jesús Vivas has said he knows that the warnings were passed on to higher authorities, a statement that places the dispute within a wider chain of institutional communication.
Ceuta president Juan Jesús Vivas has said he knows that the warnings were passed to higher authorities. His statement places the dispute inside a wider chain of communication between institutions.
On Thursday, Sanz will testify before Judge María Tardón at the Audiencia Nacional. He says he passed on information received from a CNI agent before the mass crossing into the autonomous city.
Vivas is due to appear on Wednesday. The head of the Local Police will be heard on the same day as Sanz.
The investigation asks what Spanish authorities knew before the events and how they acted on that information. Judge Tardón has requested records of alerts and risk assessments prepared before the entry. She also wants the names of their recipients and details of the channels used to send them.
The Fiscalía de Ceuta has said the Audiencia Nacional has jurisdiction to examine whether decisions or omissions by the delegate affected the way events developed.
The reported warning was sent on 29 July at 13:52 and referred to a planned assault by both the fence and the sea on the following day. Published accounts also link the mobilisation to social-media activity and a religious holiday in Morocco.
The dispute began with a contact on 29 July. Calls were circulating on social media urging people to reach Ceuta by sea and over the fence. A CNI agent contacted Sanz after those calls appeared.
Declassified material shows that the agent sent Sanz a message at 13.52. It warned of an
