The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has called on the authorities of Ceuta for a "serious will" and greater "cooperation" to address the situation of minors who remain on the streets of the city, emphasizing that "the problem is not being transferred" and that "the central Government is even assuming responsibility."
"If the Autonomous City does not have a serious will to solve the issue, we cannot do anything more than continue offering all the necessary and precise means," Marlaska pointed out this Monday during a press conference in Ceuta, where he insisted that the central Executive is involved in the management.
The minister made this statement after being asked about the remarks of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, who blamed Ceuta for the presence of minors on its streets and encouraged raising this issue directly with the head of the Ceutí Executive, Juan Jesús Vivas.
In his response, Grande-Marlaska reiterated that "the problem is not being transferred" and that "the central Government is even assuming responsibility," while stressing that the Government needs "the essential cooperation" of the Autonomous City, given that it is the administration that "assumes the guardianship" of those minors.
Labels the PP as "hypocritical" for talking about "security" in Ceuta
The Interior Minister has also been asked about his previous statements regarding a "subjective feeling of insecurity" among the citizens of Ceuta after the massive entry of immigrants at the end of July, and whether he retracted those words.
In response to those criticisms, he accused the Popular Party of being "hypocritical" for focusing its discourse on security in Ceuta when, as he denounced, the PP governments "did not invest a dime" in reinforcing personnel and infrastructure in the autonomous city during their time in charge of the central Executive.
"It seems absolutely hypocritical to me that those who had crime rates in Ceuta eight points higher than the national average during their management moments talk about security; who diverted police and Civil Guard personnel; and who did not invest a dime," the minister criticized.
Grande-Marlaska has also defended that "the crime rate in Ceuta has been reduced by thirteen points" between June 2018 and July 30, 2026, attributing this decrease to the current Government "being interested in working on security": "And to work on security, you have to invest, instead of losing 7% of personnel, gain 16% of personnel in that time; instead of not investing anything at the border, invest more than 37 million."
He has emphasized that his "priority objective is to reduce crime, guarantee security in all cities, and that all men and women can develop their rights and freedoms. And for that, the Minister of Interior, the Government of Spain, and the state security forces and bodies are working; to forget those governments of the Popular Party that did not invest either in personnel, or in staff, or in infrastructure," he concluded.
Elma Saiz accuses Feijóo of putting "sticks in the wheel"
In parallel, the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, has lashed out at the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, whom she has accused of "working" to put "sticks in the wheel" and causing the situation in Ceuta to "become chronic."
In an interview broadcast this Monday on the program "Malas Lenguas" of TVE, reported by Europa Press, Saiz has reproached Feijóo for not guaranteeing that the autonomous communities governed by the PP comply with "the law" and act with "solidarity" to accommodate the minors who still remain in Ceuta.