World · Ceuta border crisisSánchez Admits 10-Hour Border Open Amid 72,000 Ceuta CrossingsAired September 6, 2026 at 4:39 AM UTCWritten September 6, 2026 at 4:43 AM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00Moroccan guards let 72,000 people cross in 10 hours.0:05Spain's Prime Minister admits it, but says Morocco did not order it.0:09141 have died.0:11The question, will evidence show Rabat deliberately opened the gate?0:1472,000 people entered Ceuta by the end of July, a number the Prime Minister himself0:20gave to Parliament.0:21That is an order of magnitude beyond anything Spain has faced at this border.0:25Sanchez stood before the Congress of Deputies and acknowledged what his own police0:28had reported.0:29As tens of thousands pushed into the enclave late last month, Moroccan gendarmes let0:33them pass for about 10 hours.0:35He called it absurd to think the government knew and did nothing, and told lawmakers0:39there is no solid proof Rabat planned the rush.0:47By declining to accuse Morocco, Sanchez secured the return of roughly 90% of the0:53Moroccans who crossed, preserving cooperation with the same government whose guards0:57he says stood aside.0:58The restraint is deliberate.0:59Blame a window of permissiveness, not the host, because Robot controls the returns1:04and Madrid needs them.1:05But the political price is mounting alongside the dead.1:08The death toll has risen to 141, a figure the Prime Minister cited in the same1:12session.1:12Ceuta's president, who earlier called 100 deaths an irreparable tragedy, told the1:16European Parliament of his profound sorrow.1:19Tens of thousands protested across Spain, with at least 20,000 in Ceuta alone, and1:24opposition parties are calling for resignation.1:27The Loma del Colmenar reception center was overwhelmed on the September by crowds1:31seeking admission, and the enclave's second September holiday, ordinarily ignored by1:36mainland Spain, became the backdrop to the country's worst border crisis in living1:40memory.1:41How many remain is disputed.1:42Some reports put it near 5,000, including about 1,200 unaccompanied minors, while1:48separate authorities cite more than 10,000 still stranded in early September.1:52The protests spread from Ceuta to Madrid and beyond.1:57The accusation goes further.1:58Opposition lawmakers allege Spanish police and intelligence warned the government2:02two days before a movement of roughly 80,000 people arriving by truck, and that2:06Moroccan police were directly involved.2:07Sanchez rejects that claim, has committed to investigate and to publish all reports,2:11insisting there is nothing to hide.2:13The 2021 precedent ended with EU pressure and Spanish troops.2:17The 2026 crisis is still unfolding.2:20The crisis is testing Europe too.2:22The EU is withholding assistance pending answers, with the European Commission and2:26Spanish MEP Antonio Lopez involved.2:29The parallel to 2021 is direct.2:31Then, an influx triggered by the hospital treatment of a Western Sahara leader2:35brought about 8,000 to 10,000 people across in two days, a total authorities still2:40disagree on before Morocco retightened control after public and private pressure2:44from Europe, and Spain sent troops to patrol the beaches.2:47This surge is roughly nine times that scale.2:49The 2026 surge is roughly nine times the scale of twenty twenty one.2:55On disinformation, Russia and Israel amplified, but did not initiate, viral posts3:00about the crossings, A theory linked to a Supreme Court misinformation case3:03involving trafficking networks, but so far unproven.3:06Sanchez also proposed that King Felipe VI visit the disputed enclaves of Ceuta and3:10Melilla, a symbolic reaffirmation of Spanish sovereignty, as the government accuses3:14the right of exploiting the crisis.3:16The confirmed numbers sit beside a pile of disputed claims, and the single biggest3:20question is still open.3:22Five players, one balancing act, and it's already cracking.3:28So the answer to whether Morocco deliberately opened the gate is not yet known.3:32The Prime Minister has promised to publish all reports.3:36Whether the EU turns its withheld assistance into conditions and whether the inquiry3:40produces evidence of orchestration will determine whether this balancing act can3:44hold with the 2027 election horizon and right-wing attacks intensifying, the3:49political cost is already being paid.Explore with HeyDexFollow via RSSThe shortThe short ↗