The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has demanded from the Autonomous City of Ceuta "serious will" and "cooperation" to address the situation of minors who are on its streets, 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," he stated this Monday at a press conference held in Ceuta.
The minister made this statement after being asked about the declarations of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, who blamed Ceuta for the presence of minors in public spaces and urged to question the Ceuta president, Juan Jesús Vivas, about this matter.
In his response, Grande-Marlaska insisted that "the problem is not being transferred" and that "the central Government is even assuming responsibility," stressing that the Executive requires "the essential cooperation" of the Autonomous City, which is the one that "assumes the guardianship" of these minors.
Labels the PP as "hypocritical" for the debate on security in Ceuta
The Interior official has also been asked whether he rectifies his previous statements in which he spoke of a "subjective feeling of insecurity" among the residents of Ceuta after the massive entry of immigrants at the end of July.
At this point, he lashed out at the Popular Party, which he labeled as "hypocritical" for focusing the debate on security in Ceuta when, he said, the 'popular' "did not invest a dime" in reinforcing the forces and infrastructures of the autonomous city during their time in charge of the central Government.
"It seems absolutely hypocritical to me that those who had crime rates in Ceuta eight points higher than the national average during their management speak of security; who diverted police and Civil Guard forces; and who did not invest a dime," he reproached.
Grande-Marlaska has defended that "the crime rate in Ceuta has been reduced by thirteen points" between June 2018 and July 30, 2026, and has attributed this decrease to the fact that the current Executive "is 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."
"My 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 the 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.