The spokesperson for the Partido Popular in the Congress of Deputies, Ester Muñoz, accused Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on 9 September 2026 of “lying” in the debate over the recent mass entries into Ceuta ”. Nobody was talking about shooting at people, she said; what was being called for was the “militarisation of the border”, following Poland’s example. The background is the mass border crossings on 30 and 31 July, which sparked a dispute in Spain over responsibilities, rules of engagement and crisis management.
Pedro Sánchez had previously defended the decision to manage the situation without using firearms. He rejected claims that the government had been caught unprepared and said there was no evidence of coordinated interference by a third country. The Partido Popular considers this response too defensive: Muñoz and other opposition politicians are calling for the border to be reinforced with support from the armed forces. The government counters that, under current law, operational decisions lie primarily with the Interior and Defence ministries, and that deploying the armed forces on land is subject to strict legal requirements and parliamentary oversight.
The debate reflects broader political polarisation. Representatives of Vox had already called for a permanent military presence in Ceuta in early August. Supporters of such measures argue that only a robust approach can curb people-smuggling and coordinated attempts to storm the border. Critics point to constitutional and international legal limits, possible tensions with Morocco, and humanitarian consequences at a busy external border of the European Union. No official decisions have yet been made on changing the role of the armed forces or permanently adjusting the rules of engagement.
Parliament is also debating what information the security services had in advance and how warnings were assessed. The opposition is pressing for clarification on whether, and to what extent, the intelligence service CNI or police forces in Ceuta and Melilla had reported information about increased migration pressure before the events. The government points to ongoing assessments and the requirement that all measures be proportionate.
The dispute has immediate consequences for public perceptions of the security situation in the two autonomous cities. Despite the heated rhetoric, the central political question remains unresolved for now: should the border at Ceuta be reinforced by the armed forces, temporarily or permanently – and, if so, according to what clearly defined legal criteria, using what means and under whose parliamentary oversight?
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).