The Centro Nacional de Inmigración y Fronteras (CENIF) of the Policía Nacional has submitted a report to the judge María Tardón from Audiencia Nacional explaining why it is currently impossible to make a reliable count of the foreign nationals remaining in Ceuta . The report specifically concerns the events of 30 July 2026 and 31 July 2026 and bases its assessment on analysis of video footage, incident reports and social media posts.
According to the report, many of those who entered the autonomous city at the end of July are hiding, some in the homes of relatives or acquaintances, others in makeshift hideouts such as garages, cars or abandoned warehouses. These hiding places make identification, registration and initial medical care more difficult. The document also says that from 30 July 2026, messages circulated on various channels instructing new arrivals to evade registration and “remain hidden in Ceuta” to avoid being returned.
The report gives no reliable estimate of the number of people remaining; instead, it notes that their continued concealment prevents accurate quantification. According to the Policía Nacional, this uncertainty affects operational planning: accommodation capacity, health services and checks in public spaces have to be organised amid considerable data uncertainty. The CENIF document stresses that its observations reflect the information available at the time of submission and that any further investigations must be conducted separately.
In other parts of the document, covered by the press, the police also analyse the role of external actors and refer to images and witness statements as they examine possible indications of involvement by forces from outside Spain. According to the report, these questions are not answered in general terms; the CENIF says they are the subject of separate lines of investigation.
The report is therefore primarily a review of the administrative situation in Ceuta: it explains why the number of people remaining cannot currently be determined exactly and calls for closer coordination between security forces and the administration, without reaching a final assessment of legal responsibility.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).