Before deciding whether it can investigate possible organized criminal conduct, Spain’s National Court has asked the National Police for a comprehensive report on the mass entry of migrants into Ceuta. The request follows a complaint by Iustitia Europa alleging crimes against state security, aide of irregular migration and possible involvement of a criminal organization.
Judge María Tardón has opened preliminary proceedings but has not yet determined whether the National Court is the appropriate body to handle the case. She has asked the General Commissariat for Immigration and Borders (UCRIF) to examine whether the crossings on July 30 and 31, 2026, involved coordination and to identify people or groups who may have participated in or known about the movement. In another investigative step, Tardón asked Spain’s Defence Ministry whether Moroccan warships or other military vessels entered Ceuta’s waters between July 29 and August 10.
The inquiry concerns whether the episode was a spontaneous migration surge or an organized operation intended to overwhelm border management and reception services. Tardón characterized the entry as neither “occasional or spontaneous” but “an organized process,” in which migration served as formal cover for directing a mass movement toward Ceuta. She said the operation pursued “maximum impact on border management until its collapse.” These are the judge’s investigative characterizations, not a final finding of criminal responsibility.
Iustitia Europa has argued that the scale and timing of the crossings point to coordinated action. More than 70,000 people crossed from Morocco into Ceuta during approximately 48 hours, information from Reuters and European reporting. Most returned to Morocco within hours, while thousands remained. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska publicly cited 72,000 entries. A later Ceuta government administrative estimate put cumulative entries at 96,058, while warning that incomplete records and possible duplicate counting affected the figure. The estimates use different methods and do not represent a verified individual headcount.
Ceuta’s president, Juan Jesús Vivas, described the city as “under siege” during the peak of arrivals. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez acknowledged that Moroccan vessels had entered Ceuta’s waters during the period, describing their presence as a “specific incident.” That acknowledgment does not by itself establish that the vessels directed or facilitated the crossings. The Defence Ministry’s response to the judge’s inquiry is relevant to the investigation. Morocco reported recovering 11 bodies from its waters, while the original report also cited 88 deceased migrants held in Ceuta’s temporary morgue.
The arrival put severe pressure on local services. Ceuta authorities estimated that the number of migrant minors in their care rose from 180 before the crossings to 3,086 afterward, against an ordinary capacity reported at 29 places. Reuters later reported that roughly 7,000 to 8,000 migrants remained dispersed across the city or in facilities provided by charities and civil-society groups. More than 1,000 people from sub-Saharan African countries were also estimated to remain in Ceuta. Asylum claims and the needs of unaccompanied minors and other vulnerable people added to the administrative and humanitarian strain.
The court’s immediate task is to determine whether the allegations and evidence fall within its jurisdiction, not to decide whether the alleged crimes occurred. Tardón has rejected several investigative requests from Iustitia Europa’s popular prosecution, describing them as disproportionate and lacking sufficient procedural utility. The inquiry continues to examine possible coordination and maritime activity, along with who may have participated. For additional context on challenges at the Ceuta border, including pressure on local morgue facilities and discrepancies in official figures, see this recent report on the migrant death toll in Ceuta.
Ceuta is a Spanish autonomous city on the North African coast and an external border of the European Union. The episode also had wider diplomatic repercussions: Reuters reported that Spain and Italy later agreed to lift controls on each other’s citizens following a three-month dispute linked to the migrant rush. The ongoing court inquiry may shape how Spanish authorities assess the incident and future border-management cooperation with Morocco.
