Declassified Spain CNI Ceuta documents released by the administration of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez confirm that intelligence officials warned law enforcement 24 hours before a massive border surge. The National Intelligence Center (CNI) notified regional authorities on July 29 regarding coordinated social media calls to cross the border by land and sea.
Specifically, the intelligence alerts coincided with Morocco’s Throne Day celebration on July 30. Because social media groups with 180,000 members circulated these calls, CNI officials dispatched urgent notifications to the Civil Guard and Moroccan intelligence services. Consequently, political debates continue regarding how national security agencies processed these early warnings.
Social Media Monitoring and Risk Assessment
The declassified file contains 40 internal documents compiled by Spanish intelligence and defense agencies throughout July. For this reason, reports from the National Immigration and Borders Center (CENIF) elevated border risk levels to “very high” prior to the event.
In fact, official records documented 921 swimming entries during the previous month alongside active social media groups coordinating group actions. Meanwhile, Defense Minister Margarita Robles defended the CNI’s warning system during parliamentary inquiries. Therefore, public scrutiny focuses on administrative coordination between intelligence networks and border police.
Political Controversy and Foreign Intelligence Denials
The publication of these documents highlighted internal debate between the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of the Interior regarding warning protocols. Indeed, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska previously stated that no report predicted the exact scale of the crisis.
Meanwhile, the Defense Ministry rejected claims that foreign intelligence agencies, including the CIA, provided advance notice regarding the border events. Furthermore, government officials emphasized that online calls do not always convert into predictable operational numbers. As a result, lawmakers analyze the declassified files to evaluate structural border defense responses.
Reference
France 24. (2026, September 9). España desclasifica documentos: el CNI alertó un “asalto” por mar y tierra a Ceuta un día antes de la entrada masiva. France 24 Español. https://www.france24.com/es/europa/20260909-espa%C3%B1a-desclasifica-documentos-el-cni-alert%C3%B3-un-asalto-por-mar-y-tierra-a-ceuta-un-d%C3%ADa-antes-de-la-entrada-masiva