The magistrate of the National Court María Tardón has summoned for this Tuesday three councilors of the Ceuta Executive to appear as witnesses. According to the president of the autonomous city, Juan Jesús Vivas, "they had direct presence in the affected areas or active participation in the management of the crisis" triggered by the arrival of thousands of people from Morocco to the city on July 30 and 31.
Starting at 10:00 a.m., Alberto Ramón Gaitán, councilor of the Presidency and Governance; Nabila Benzina, councilor of Health and Social Services; and Alejandro Ramírez, first vice president and responsible for the Environment, Urban Services, and Housing, must give their statements.
Vivas, who was the first witness to intervene in this procedure, stated on September 30 that he contacted the central Government in the days prior to the massive entry to alert about the seriousness of the scenario, but that from Moncloa the migratory crisis was downplayed.
In various orders, Tardón maintains that the mass arrival "did not have an occasional or spontaneous nature, but rather it was an organized process in which the migratory purpose operated only as a formal cover that served to promote, boost, and direct a massive flow of people to the city of Ceuta."
Likewise, she rejects that "the purpose of the majority of the immigrants was to remain in Spanish territory," emphasizing that the mass entry "sought to achieve maximum impact on border management until its collapse and, having achieved the first objective, eliminate Spain's capacity to respond to contain or reverse the situation."
Among the latest proceedings, the judge has requested the Ministry of Defense to inform whether it has a record of the presence in the waters of the autonomous city of warships or Moroccan military vessels between July 29, the eve of the events, and August 10.
This Monday, two commanders of the National Police and the Civil Guard have testified as witnesses that, the night before the massive entry of people from Morocco to Ceuta, they spotted Moroccan boats and that the next day they confirmed how agents from the neighboring country directed the migrants towards the autonomous city.
In addition to these statements, the instructor has already taken testimony in this case from the president of Ceuta, from the former chief of staff of the Government Delegation, Gonzalo Sanz, and from the chief of the Local Police of the autonomous city, Sebastián Vega.