Morocco firmly denied on Monday Spain’s allegations that it had deliberately facilitated the unprecedented influx of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Authorities in Rabat attributed the crisis to a Spanish court ruling handed down on July 8, which weakened immediate deportation measures for migrants arriving by sea.

A senior Moroccan official argued that Madrid should have anticipated the consequences of the decision, which was quickly exploited by human trafficking networks. These networks spread word that migrants would now be shielded once they reached Spanish soil. “Europe demands we stop crossings, yet when they occur, the red carpet is rolled out,” the official stated.

Ceuta’s president, Juan Jesús Vivas, had earlier accused Morocco of “encouraging and permitting” the surge. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also cautioned against using irregular migration as leverage against an EU member state.

Morocco insisted it had not relaxed border controls or reduced security measures prior to last Thursday’s mass crossings. The country maintains a robust security presence along its northern coast, deploying nearly 24,000 officers to combat illegal migration.

According to Moroccan authorities, 79,000 crossing attempts were thwarted in 2024, with 74,000 prevented since the start of 2026. They emphasized that cooperation with Spain on migration control had been “exemplary” until the July court ruling.

Rabat called on Madrid to reinstate effective deterrence mechanisms while stressing that Morocco “will never be complicit in a purely security-driven approach to migration.”