Ceuta threatens legal action over migrant crisis pitting Italy against Spain
The Spanish government has 30 days to resolve the migrant crisis in Ceuta or face the courts, the city's mayor-president has warned, after new attempts to reach the exclave were thwarted at the weekend. Juan Jesus Viva escalated his rhetoric on Monday after hundreds of migrants still in Ceuta staged a protest on the beach urging Spanish authorities to grant them asylum instead of sending them…
The mayor-president of Ceuta, Juan Jesus Viva, has threatened legal action against the Spanish government if the migrant crisis in the North African exclave is not resolved within 30 days. Hundreds of migrants remain in Ceuta, despite a previous mass border crossing two weeks ago that saw over 72,000 people enter the territory. Protesters, holding Spanish flags and demanding asylum, staged a demonstration on a beach, urging authorities not to send them back to Morocco.
Viva accused the government of "almost total inaction" and threatened to bring the issue to Spanish courts, emphasizing that "Ceuta is living in exceptional times." The crisis has strained relations with Italy, which has introduced additional passport checks for Spanish citizens and countered with reciprocal checks. Spain has blamed misinformation and criminal networks for the recent surge in arrivals, but border workers claim their warnings were ignored.
Human rights groups estimate the death toll to be higher than the official count of 94, with many more people still unaccounted for. The EU has warned social media companies about the situation in Ceuta, with Meta and TikTok activating crisis protocols to combat human smuggling and disinformation.
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