Ceuta: Spanish Government Delegation Chief of Staff Resigns Over Intelligence Warning
Gonzalo Sanz, chief of staff of Spain's government delegate in Ceuta, resigned amid a dispute over a CNI intelligence warning about July's mass migrant crossing, which the delegate denies ever receiving.
Gonzalo Sanz, chief of staff of the Spanish government delegate in the occupied city of Ceuta, resigned on Thursday, September 10, 2026, in a new development deepening the controversy over how Spanish authorities handled intelligence warnings that preceded the mass entry of Moroccan migrants into the city on July 30 and 31.
Sanz justified his resignation citing a "clear incompatibility" between his assertion that his team informed the government delegate in Ceuta, Miguel Ángel Pérez Triano, of information from Spain's National Intelligence Center (CNI) as soon as it was received on July 29, and the delegate's statements to several Spanish media outlets denying he ever received any alert from his own chief of staff on the matter.
Background
Spain's CNI had sent a WhatsApp message on July 29 warning of calls circulating on social media to organize a mass crossing by fence and by sea the following day, originating from two groups with a combined following of around 180,000. Ceuta indeed saw, on July 30 and 31, the irregular entry of a large number of Moroccan migrants, one of the largest border-crossing crises the occupied city has experienced.
Why It Matters
Under mounting political and media pressure, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pledged transparency on September 3, before the Council of Ministers voted on September 8 to declassify documents related to the incident. Spanish authorities subsequently released 40 reports and communications from police, the Civil Guard and intelligence services, covering the period from July 1 to 31.
Sanz's resignation comes just two days after the European Commission decided to grant Spain an emergency aid package of €114.7 million to address the fallout of the Ceuta crisis, underscoring the continuing political and financial repercussions of the crisis on relations between Rabat and Madrid, as political responsibility for handling the mass-crossing file remains disputed within Spain's own administration.