Tuesday, August 04, 2026

Who Is to Blame for the Chaos on Spain’s Border? | BBC News

August 4, 2026 | Why did tens of thousands of migrants from Morocco suddenly attempt to cross into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta by sea last week?

In the days since the sudden border crisis left at least 72 people dead, a variety of theories have circulated.

The Trump administration blamed the incident on “radical left-wing globalist policies”, and many European leaders condemned what they say is Spain’s lax immigration policy.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez denied those claims and blamed trafficking gangs. Others have blamed Morocco and accused it of ‘weaponising’ migrants for political purposes.

We speak to the BBC’s Southern and Eastern Europe correspondent, Sarah Rainsford, to find out how and why the Ceuta crisis happened.