The Continuing Crisis in Ceuta: “They Have to Go Away”
22nd September 2026
At the end of July a mob of mostly military-age young men invaded the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on the coast of North Africa. Ceuta is made up of a single city situated on a peninsula that juts out from Morocco into the Mediterranean. The invaders swam around the sea barriers and broke through parts of the fence to gain access to Spanish territory, with hopes of being able to cross the sea to the European continent.
There are some indications that the invasion was enabled and coordinated by Moroccan authorities. Most of the invaders were not Moroccans, but from further south in Africa, or from other parts of the Middle East.
An estimated 70,000 to 80,000 “migrants” entered Ceuta. The Spanish government said that most of them have returned to Morocco, but somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 are thought to have remained in Ceuta, residing in shantytowns on the beach, or camping out in parks and empty buildings. Crime has become rampant, and sexual assaults against women have risen dramatically. Most of the rape victims are from the unfortunate minority of female migrants among the invaders, but a significant number of local Spanish women and girls have also been attacked.