The Spanish government has decided to take control of the port of Ceuta for the purpose of accommodating migrants. This decree, signed by the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, permits the installation of tents in the public port area covering 16 thousand square meters, according to state sources to the EFE agency.
This government decision was made after the Board of Directors of the Ceuta Port Authority voted against installing the specified tents last Friday, despite a request from the State Secretariat for Migration Affairs.
The request concerned the temporary placement of necessary resources to fulfill the functions assigned to the Main Directorate of Humanitarian Support and Reception and International Protection System. The Ceuta Port Authority denied the request, deeming it incompatible with the normal operations of the port, and referred the matter to the State Ports.
A report prepared by this organization indicated that the planned temporary occupation could 'increase certain risks related to the protection of critical infrastructure and sensitive facilities, as well as port activities.' Following the analysis of this report and other documentation, the Ministry of Transport decided to grant the request from the State Secretariat for Migration Affairs.
According to the signed decree, 'the occupation will be implemented through the temporary installation of tents and other facilities intended for a rest area, medical post and pharmacy, as well as support and social intervention zones, sanitary facilities, offices for personnel providing services, and security service tents.'
According to the ministry, considering the 'exceptional situation in Ceuta,' Óscar Puente decided to grant the request from the State Secretariat for Migration Affairs and allow the use of part of the port's service area, which is already open to the city.
On Thursday, hundreds of Ceuta residents took to the streets to protest against migrant detention centers that the Spanish government is preparing as a preliminary step toward their deportation. Ceuta residents expressed disagreement with the placement of a new migrant reception center near two residential areas.
More than 70 thousand people illegally entered Ceuta between July 30 and 31. Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, called this a 'violation of Spain's territorial integrity' and blamed organized crime groups involved in human trafficking for distorting the recent regulation on the return of migrants arriving in Spain by boat.
Over 90 percent of people who illegally entered the Spanish enclave in North Africa bordering Morocco left Ceuta within hours and days, but at least 5 thousand remain in the city, thousands of whom are on the streets.
Sánchez suggested that Spain and Europe had become targets of an attack that utilized immigration, and that Israel and Russia were also involved through the spread of disinformation on social media about what actually happened in Ceuta.
