The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, reiterated this Tuesday that "there was no report" that anticipated an "unprecedented" arrival of migrants in Ceuta on July 30.
His words come after the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, defended in the Defense Commission of Congress that the agents of the National Intelligence Center (CNI) fulfilled their duties in the days leading up to the massive entry into Ceuta, closely monitored the evolution of the situation, and conveyed their analyses to the Security Forces and Corps and to the Government Delegation.
In the press conference following the Council of Ministers, and when asked if he maintained his position after Robles' intervention, Grande-Marlaska reiterated that he had no access to "any warning that alerted of an entry of this magnitude."
The Interior official emphasized that "there is no report of that nature" and stressed that, had there been a forecast similar to what occurred in May 2021, that information would have been sent "to the highest authorities" to adopt the "extraordinary" measures deemed appropriate.
"If there had been a forecast, rather, of something similar to what happened in 2021, does anyone believe that it would not have been elevated to the highest authorities to take extraordinary measures?" the minister posed, appealing to "common sense" and "objective data" to argue that there was no error on the part of the intelligence services. At the same time, he emphasized that he does not intend to delve into "greater issues" regarding the details of the information handled in relation to the migratory pressure.
Grande-Marlaska defends the intelligence services
In his speech, the minister took the opportunity to once again support the work of the Spanish intelligence services, emphasizing their "high professionalism."
"Recognition, I want to make this clear, to the work of all the intelligence services, all of them, the entirety of them," he stated, insisting that they have carried out "extraordinary" work both in this episode and in others.
He added that these services have acted "in strict compliance with the law and working hard," so he is convinced that, in this case, "they have acted perfectly."
Robles defends that the CNI fulfilled its duty
The statements of Grande-Marlaska occur a few hours after Margarita Robles defended in parliamentary headquarters the actions of the CNI and the military intelligence services in the days leading up to the massive entry into Ceuta.
The Minister of Defense has explained before the Defense Commission that the CNI agents assigned to the autonomous city carry out a "daily" monitoring of the situation in the area from different angles, including relations with neighboring countries, the geopolitical context on the southern flank, and the evolution of irregular migration.
Robles has assured that during those days the intelligence services "carried out the work that was and is required of them" and that this information was shared and analyzed together with the State Security Forces and Corps and the personnel of the Government Delegation.
Internal investigation for police action in Barcelona-Elche
On another note, Grande-Marlaska has confirmed that the National Police has opened an internal investigation ex officio to clarify the actions of the agents in the surroundings of the Martínez Valero stadium in Elche (Alicante), where a supporter of FC Barcelona was arrested for carrying a estelada.
After the criticisms from the blaugrana club, which denounced "disproportionate use of force" against members and fans, the minister has specified that this investigation has been initiated due to events in which "there may have been" excessive use of force.
In this line, he has emphasized that both the Ministry of the Interior and the National Police itself are "the most interested" in ensuring that any police intervention is "proportional, legal" and respects "scrupulously" human rights.
Asked about a possible appearance at the request of ERC to explain what happened, Grande-Marlaska has assured that he will attend Parliament "as many times as requested" and his presence is agreed upon. "Either before the Congress or before the Senate, as could not be otherwise," he concluded.