By Saturday, the tide had turned. Just days after roughly 60,000 migrants surged into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta from neighboring Morocco, officials say nearly all of them have already left. Spain’s interior minister described the situation as having almost completely reversed itself.
The scenes along the coast told their own story. Spanish soldiers and police watched as young migrants filed back across the border into Morocco on Saturday morning, some pausing to wave goodbye to the officers who had guarded them, according to Arab News. Anyone who lingered too long on the coastal path was quickly waved on.
The crossing itself had been perilous. Many migrants swam around a small barrier jutting into the Mediterranean to reach Spanish soil and at least 67 people died trying. Among the survivors was a 19 year old Senegalese man who told reporters he simply wanted the chance to work and build a life, since opportunity back home felt scarce.
The sudden wave rattled European capitals. Twenty-two EU nations issued a joint letter demanding an urgent video meeting of interior ministers to craft a coordinated response and head off further uncontrolled crossings. France moved fast, boosting its border police presence fivefold. Italy went further, suspending its visa-free travel agreement with Spain for a month. Spain’s prime minister, meanwhile, pushed back hard against what he called a “selfish” response from fellow EU members.
On the ground in Ceuta, the aftermath lingered in small details abandoned flippers and buoys scattered along the fence line, a new pneumatic barrier stretching 500 meters to reinforce the border, soldiers sheltering under parasols in the morning fog.
Across the water in Morocco, one man explained he’d been planning to swim over anyway, just to see his ailing mother in Madrid until a friend told him the border had simply opened. What triggered the mass crossing in the first place remains a mystery; Moroccan authorities have yet to explain what happened.
It wasn’t the first time. A similar surge hit Ceuta in 2021, when more than 10,000 migrants crossed in just two days.
