Briefing
The judge of the Audiencia Nacional, María Tardón, in rulings dated 16 and 17 September 2026, ordered extensive preservation of evidence in the investigation into the mass entry into Ceuta on 30 and 31 July 2026 . The investigation aims, first, to establish possible responsibility for events that Tardón has described in part as a “serious attack on Spain’s territorial integrity” and, second, to determine whether there were criminally relevant failures in the state’s response.
The orders include technical analysis and requests for information: satellite imagery analysis is required for the relevant border sections for the period from 20 July to 7 August 2026, along with information from defence authorities, including the Estado Mayor de la Defensa. Police units such as the Comisaría General de Información and the Unidad Central de Inteligencia Criminal are to conduct biometric comparisons and facial recognition checks relating to people named in the investigation files. The court also requests internal communications, situation reports and alerts from national authorities to establish the background to the warnings and the responses of the relevant bodies.
As procedural steps, Tardón has scheduled witness hearings: the President of the city of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, is scheduled to testify on 30 September 2026; the former Jefe de Gabinete of the Delegación del Gobierno in Ceuta, Gonzalo Sanz, and the head of the Policía Local are due to testify on 1 October 2026. The judge also ordered relevant files from proceedings conducted in Ceuta to be brought together at the Audiencia Nacional.
The measures described are procedural investigative steps and do not constitute a final assessment of guilt or responsibility. Results from satellite imagery, biometric checks and witness statements are still pending and will be assessed in the case files once received. At this stage, the judicial examination remains a forensic and technical reconstruction of events and information flows.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).