Migrant crisis: Spanish government’s representative in Ceuta resigns

Spain’s representative in its North African enclave, Ceuta, resigned on Monday, citing personal reasons after weeks of intense scrutiny over border management that included the arrival of tens of thousands of migrants from Morocco.

The crisis erupted in late July, when more than 72,000 migrants reached Ceuta, overwhelming reception centers and intensifying the debate over migration policy on one of the European Union’s two land borders in Africa.

Most of these migrants were later removed, although thousands more remain in the self-governing enclave, and the left-wing minority government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid has struggled to contain the political fallout.

Government Delegate Miguel Angel Perez Triano, who oversaw coordination between the Ceuta government and Spanish state agencies and security forces, defended his handling of the crisis, but said the subsequent scrutiny, along with what he called a harassment campaign against him and his family, had become unbearable.

He said the government delegation had no operational control over the border or the security forces and that no information available in advance indicated that so many migrants would enter the enclave.

The Madrid government has repeatedly said that, although it received alerts about possible border crossings, nothing indicated a rush on the scale ultimately seen in Ceuta.

Spain’s High Court is conducting an investigation into the events and this week will hear the testimony of Perez Triano’s former chief of staff.

Speaking to the Cope radio station on Monday, Spain’s Minister of Territorial Policy, Angel Victor Torres, estimated that up to 3,500 migrants remain in Ceuta outside the enclave’s reception centers.