Spain deploys troops as migrants surge into Ceuta again

Spain sent military reinforcements to Ceuta after thousands of migrants crossed into the enclave and at least nine people died. Ceuta sits on Morocco’s northern coast and is one of Spain’s two North African enclaves, alongside Melilla, with border fences that extend into the sea along the Strait of Gibraltar.

A 2021 CIDOB analysis found Ceuta is a place where migration has been used as political leverage, a dynamic that has repeatedly made the enclave a pressure point in Spain-Morocco relations.

In May 2021, Spanish officials put the number of migrants who reached Ceuta in a single day from Morocco at at least 6,000. About 1,500 were minors, Spain returned about 2,700 of the arrivals but not the children, and Spanish estimates put the total at about 8,000 over two days. Spain deployed troops to the beach during that crisis, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called it a serious crisis for Spain and Europe.

Juan Jesús Vivas, the enclave’s regional leader, has repeatedly urged Madrid to intervene during later surges as reception centers filled and local resources were overwhelmed. Migrants had been swimming farther out to sea to avoid security at the fence line, and some drowned in the attempt.

PRX data put Spain at more than 46,000 migrants in 2024 despite tougher controls at the Ceuta border. As of 30 April 2026, UNHCR’s Spain sea-arrivals data listed Algeria, Morocco, Mali, Senegal and Gambia among the main nationalities reaching Spanish shores.