The federal coordinator of Izquierda Unida (IU), Antonio Maíllo, has urged the president of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, to offer total transparency regarding the migratory crisis in Ceuta, while considering it essential to convene the National Security Council and undertake a "strategic shift" in the relationship with Morocco.
In this line, he has defended the need to gather the highest security body of the State, understanding that the massive entry of migrants into the autonomous city has left "black holes" regarding the role of the National Intelligence Center, especially about its capacity to anticipate a displacement of tens of thousands of people at the border and about cooperation with Moroccan secret services.
In an interview with Europa Press, Maíllo has emphasized that it is essential for the Executive to detail everything related to the "humanitarian crisis" of July 30, which he describes as a "tragedy of colossal dimensions" due to the high number of deceased and missing persons, something that, in his view, should provoke much more "indignation."
"If they weren't poor, we would be talking about another screen and another institutional response," he stated, lamenting the absence of official mourning for the victims, a gesture that, in his opinion, would serve to show Moroccan families that "they are not alone" and that Spain, as a neighboring country, knows how to identify what a "satrapy" is.
According to the leader of IU, the crisis in Ceuta has made it clear that Morocco "despises the life of its people" and that "no one believes" that the arrival of 70,000 people at the border occurred "without the acquiescence of the Moroccan State."
Shedding light on the relationship of the CNI with Morocco
While waiting for detailed explanations from the Government, Maíllo insists that there are "black holes" that must be "illuminated," especially when it is "presumed" that the CNI maintains good relations with the intelligence services of the neighboring country.
Faced with a movement of up to 70,000 people at the Ceuta border, he proposes as the first hypothesis that the Moroccan secret services "were not loyal" to their Spanish counterparts and, therefore, did not convey the information about the imminence of a massive entry.
However, it adds a second possibility: that the CNI lacks effective tools to detect the displacement of thousands of people despite the available technological resources. For this reason, it reproaches that the National Security Council has not yet been convened, when it considers "undeniable" that the supposed good rapport with Moroccan intelligence does not correspond to reality.
Morocco interprets "weakness" in the PSOE's policy
In parallel, the leader of IU calls for a profound rethinking of the policy towards Morocco, considering that the strategy of "appeasement" has been a "failure" and that the Maghreb country has read certain gestures from the socialist wing of the Government as "weakness," including support for the autonomy plan for Western Sahara defended by Rabat, thus breaking decades of consensus in Spanish foreign action.
"Appeasement has not brought us any kind of positive result," Maíllo has reiterated, recalling that if the president himself defined what happened as an "attack" on Spain's territorial integrity, it implies that there is a responsible party and that there should have been a reaction with the creation of a crisis cabinet and the convening of the National Security Council, especially in light of the apparent discrepancies between Interior and Defense.
In any case, he defends that the relationship with the neighboring country should be oriented towards genuine "good neighborliness," but making it clear, from assertiveness, that respect for human rights and international law must be demanded.
The role of the King in the Ceuta crisis
Before Felipe VI met with the president of Ceuta to convey his "affection and support" and before Juan Jesús Vivas stated that he was convinced that the monarch would travel to the city because the King "fulfills his commitments," the leader of IU already considered the actions of the Head of State insufficient.
Maíllo expresses surprise that the King has visited places struck by tragedies with fatal victims or "incalculable" ecological damage, such as areas affected by fires, but has not yet made a visit to the autonomous city, with its president having to travel to the Balearic Islands to "pay homage" during the monarch's vacation. "Someone might argue that, indeed, if he were to go to Ceuta it would provoke a much greater degree of tension, but I believe that with Morocco there needs to be a lot of clarity regarding positions."
"It seems to me a mistake just as it also seemed a mistake to me that Sánchez changed the relationship with Western Sahara with the acceptance of the Moroccan proposal (for the area)," criticized the coordinator of IU.
In addition, he pointed out that the PSOE maintains "a contradiction within itself, given that it knows militants who support the Sahrawi cause while they have had relevance in the party, such as former presidents Felipe González and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who have had many relations with Morocco.
The Minister of Digital Transformation and Secretary General of the PSOE of Madrid, Óscar López, guaranteed this Friday that the King will visit Ceuta "when it is appropriate" and "in coordination with the Government" when asked about the statements of the Ceuta president, Juan Jesús Vivas, who assured that Felipe VI had reiterated his commitment to that pending visit to the autonomous city.
Exclude Morocco from the 2030 World Cup
On the other hand, Maíllo proposes to exclude Morocco from the organization of the 2030 World Cup after this crisis, and for this reason IU has promoted in the Sumar group the registration in Congress of a non-legislative proposal to open this debate.
"The Moroccan people who suffer from their government must know that other countries do fight for human rights (..) And the magnificent Moroccan football team must know that the main enemy is their government and their state," he added.
Likewise, he criticized that FIFA, responsible for this tournament, has incurred "very serious mistakes" in its history, such as awarding the World Cup to Qatar, and for this reason demands that the Government dialogue with the organization to demand that the venue not be awarded to countries without guarantees in terms of human rights.
"Portugal and Spain have to see if Morocco, as a state, deserves to organize the World Cup with us, which we believe it does not (...) A very big message is sent: if a country does not despise the life of its people, if it despises human rights, it will be a country that will not be attended to or supported by the international community," he argued, warning that the main geopolitical problem is that Rabat has the "active support" of the United States and its president, Donald Trump.
Questioned about the information that pointed to FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, and which this same entity has denied, Maíllo emphasized that regardless of the credibility of this news, he believes that this has led the organization to "infinitesimal levels of institutional dignity," behaving like a "lackey" of Trump.