Felipe Pathé Duarte, a professor at the Nova School of Law - Faculty of Law at Nova University of Lisbon, stated that the episode of tens of thousands of migrants arriving in Ceuta, although most have already left the Spanish enclave, should not be classified as a humanitarian or migration crisis.
According to Pathé Duarte, the event fundamentally constitutes a modality of hybrid threat and an exercise of power by Morocco, aiming to impose its territorial claims, which he considers not uncommon.
The analyst compared this tactic to actions by other countries, citing Russia, which frequently supports flows of migrants and refugees on the borders with Poland and the Baltic states. He warned that such occurrences provoke political and social instability, polarization, and moral dilemmas.
For Pathé Duarte, all events are reflections and strategic goals of hybrid threat actions. He emphasized that in an increasingly polarized European context, this type of situation is deeply disturbing, and Rabat is aware of it.
The professor recalled the Moroccan dispute regarding Western Sahara and mentioned that Spain's official position defends that the issue should be resolved through the United Nations, given the annexation of the former Spanish colony by Morocco in 1975.
He commented that some Spanish politicians from the left and center-left spectrum previously showed sympathy for the Polisario Front cause. This liberation movement, which seeks a referendum defined by the parties in 1991 at the UN, receives continuous support from Algeria, as the latter has an interest in obtaining direct access to the Atlantic Ocean.
Although Morocco presented a plan in 2007 to grant greater autonomy to the Sahrawis, this would remain under Rabat's control, a proposal that has gained international support, including from the United States and France.
Recently, a visit by the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, to Algeria may have triggered a reaction from Morocco. The country exerts pressure on both Spain and Europe to have its demands recognized, given that the Status of Western Sahara, considered by the UN as non-self-governing territory, generates tensions between Morocco and various members of the European Union.
When asked whether Pedro Sánchez justified the entry into Ceuta by exploiting a drug trafficking mafia or if there are US and Israeli interests in European destabilization, Pathé Duarte refused to speculate, stating he would only analyze facts.
He reiterated that it is not unprecedented for Morocco to use the migration issue to exert pressure on Madrid. As an example, he cited the case of Brahim Ghali, president of the Polisario, who was hospitalized in Spain in April 2021 for emergency treatment due to COVID-19, which caused a serious diplomatic crisis with Morocco.
Pathé Duarte concluded that there is a Moroccan willingness to use migrants as bargaining chips to obtain recognition of its geopolitical claims, especially over Western Sahara. He emphasized that the migratory flow promoted by Morocco is, in fact, a form of power assertion through hybrid action against Spain.
