<\/p>\n
Migrants stand near their tents at El Trampol\u00edn beach in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026.<\/p>\n
Francis Gonz\u00e1lez\/AP Photo\/Francis Gonz\u00c3\u00a1lez<\/p>\n
Demonstrators prepare to take part in a protest in support of Ceuta marking the city’s anniversary in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026.<\/p>\n
Francis Gonz\u00e1lez\/AP Photo\/Francis Gonz\u00c3\u00a1lez<\/p>\n
Protesters march in support of Ceuta to mark the city’s anniversary in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026.<\/p>\n
Francis Gonz\u00e1lez\/AP Photo\/Francis Gonz\u00c3\u00a1lez<\/p>\n
Protesters march in support of Ceuta to mark the city’s anniversary in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026.<\/p>\n
Francis Gonz\u00e1lez\/AP Photo\/Francis Gonz\u00c3\u00a1lez<\/p>\n
Protesters march in support of Ceuta to mark the city’s anniversary in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026.<\/p>\n
Francis Gonz\u00e1lez\/AP Photo\/Francis Gonz\u00c3\u00a1lez<\/p>\n
CEUTA, Spain (AP) \u2014 The city of Ceuta, a tiny speck of Spanish territory perched on the northern African coast, normally celebrates its Sept. 2 annual official holiday largely ignored by the mainland.<\/p>\n
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But not this year, after Ceuta became the epicenter of Spain’s worst border crisis in living memory.<\/p>\n
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In lieu of festivities, tens of thousands of people took to the streets Wednesday across Spain to protest the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ceuta, demanding solutions and blaming Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez for his government’s handling of it.<\/p>\n
Waving Spanish flags, they shouted \u201cA united Ceuta will never be defeated,” and \u201cInvaders \u2014 go home!\u201d referring to the thousands of migrants still in the city.<\/p>\n
A border rush and the fallout<\/p>\n
In late July, about 72,000 people swam, scrambled or charged into the small Spanish territory neighboring Morocco, with at least 90 dying in the effort to reach Europe.<\/p>\n
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Most of the migrants quickly returned or were ushered back over the border, but around 5,000, including 1,200 minors, remain in Ceuta weeks later, according to the national government. Difficult questions likewise linger over what caused the mass crossing that the government says was fueled by an online campaign on social media.<\/p>\n
The sudden influx of tens of thousands of migrants into Ceuta, which has a population of about 84,000, put a huge strain on resources and angered many residents. Local authorities said that Spain’s central government ignored warning signs before the border was breached.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWhat happened to us was not a migratory crisis,\u201d Ceuta’s regional leader, Juan Jes\u00fas Vivas, said during an institutional act on Wednesday to mark the holiday. \u201cWhat happened was the violation of Spain’s territorial integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vivas is a member of Spain’s leading conservative Popular Party, which, with Spain’s far-right Vox party, has latched onto the Ceuta crisis and made it the focus of a political fight to oust the left-wing national government in Madrid.<\/p>\n
Protests called against government<\/p>\n
The official organizer of Wednesday’s protests in Madrid and more than 200 other cities and towns was the nonpartisan Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces. But the protests were promoted by the PP and Vox, which is strongly against irregular migration.<\/p>\n
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Spain\u2019s minister of territorial policy, \u00c1ngel V\u00edctor Torres, told Spanish National Radio that the protests were politically motivated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not to show support for the city of Ceuta or its residents; it is to attack the government of Spain,\u201d Torres said.<\/p>\n
The government has denied claims it has left Ceuta behind. This week, it earmarked 309 million euros ($357 million) to aid the city’s social services, with special attention to housing migrants, its economy and security.<\/p>\n
Madrid alleges Russian, Israeli foul play<\/p>\n
Many in Spain have asked if Morocco’s government could have done more to prevent the frontier breakthrough.<\/p>\n
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S\u00e1nchez, however, has repeatedly defended the Moroccan authorities, saying they were swift to help in the return of most of the migrants. On Monday, the Spanish leader alleged \u2014 without presenting any evidence \u2014 that other countries had amplified disinformation related to the crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no information from any of our intelligence services that points to the participation of Moroccan authorities,\u201d S\u00e1nchez told Cadena Ser radio on Monday.<\/p>\n
S\u00e1nchez, who faces an election next year, said that a misinterpretation of a Supreme Court ruling and disinformation spread on social media encouraged people to rush the border.<\/p>\n
The prime minister has also accused social media accounts linked to Russia and Israel and right-wing groups of exploiting and amplifying the Ceuta crisis after it happened on July 30 and 31. Israel and Russia have refuted that claim.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWithout facts, without materials backed up by numbers, dates, names, there is simply nothing to talk about,\u201d Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters.<\/p>\n
S\u00e1nchez\u2019s government didn’t provide examples of Russian or Israeli disinformation campaigns, instead citing internal reports from its Foreign Affairs Ministry and the European Commission’s diplomatic service.<\/p>\n
Life in Ceuta still not back to normal<\/p>\n
Many migrants, including unaccompanied minors, remain sleeping in the streets and camped on a beach despite authorities\u2019 efforts to shelter, register and deport those who are eligible back to Morocco.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019re suffering and we want to get to Europe or find a solution right now. Here, we\u2019re all sleeping on the beach and having a really hard time,\u201d Moroccan Nebil Tazi told The Associated Press. \u201cWe\u2019ve been waiting for a month, waiting for a solution here, but there isn\u2019t one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vivas, Ceuta’s leading official, said that the focus should be on getting the autonomous city back to \u201cnormality,\u201d as he vowed to continue to pursue the \u201ctruth\u201d behind the crisis.<\/p>\n
He urged Spain’s central government to reinforce and strengthen the border with Morocco instead of depending on cooperation with its neighbor.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we don’t do this, there will always be someone tempted to use migration as a tool for political ends,\u201d Vivas said.<\/p>\n
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In a recorded video message published Wednesday, S\u00e1nchez said his government was putting all resources so Ceuta’s residents could return to tranquility.<\/p>\n
The Ceuta holiday commemorates Sept. 2, 1415, when the first Portuguese governor disembarked a few weeks after Portuguese soldiers claimed the terrain. It then passed into Spanish hands in 1580.<\/p>\n
The city normally celebrates the day with an official ceremony, musical performances and cultural programs.<\/p>\n
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Suman Naishadham contributed from Madrid. Joseph Wilson reported and Renata Brito contributed to this report from Barcelona.<\/p>\n
This version has been corrected to clarify that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez alleged that other countries amplified disinformation related to the crisis, not that they spread disinformation that caused the crisis.<\/p>\n
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