Europeupdated 1h ago2 min read
King Felipe VI Visits Ceuta After Spain Clears Last Migrant Camp
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Spain cleared the last major migrant camp in Ceuta two days before the royal visit. More than 350 police and military personnel took part in the operation.
Felipe VI to Ceuta
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia travel to Ceuta on Tuesday, October 13, and the royal couple will spend the night there before attending Melilla the following day. Just over two months after more than 70,000 migrants from Morocco arrived in the Spanish enclave on African soil, the visit comes and it frames the trip as a reaffirmation of Madrid’s sovereignty over a disputed territory.
El Mundo links the visit to a broader European context, arguing that Ceuta stands as “tangible proof of how irregular immigration can affect not only border management but also the security and territorial integrity of a member state.” El Mundo also says Morocco’s summer crisis coincided with a “succession horizon” after Mohamed VI, and it describes the appointment of Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as the first woman called to head the government.
Sovereignty, security, and anger
Dozens of police officers accompanied by soldiers dismantled the last migrant camp in Ceuta’s historic center on Sunday, 48 hours before Felipe VI’s arrival scheduled for Tuesday, October 13.
Gema Miralles, a 54-year-old beautician, said, “Of course it affects coexistence a little. And what we all want, Muslims, Hindus, Jews and Christians, is that they leave and let us live, because they cannot stay here.”
DW says the king’s trip is meant to reaffirm Spain’s sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla while avoiding harm to the relationship with Morocco, which claims both cities.
DW also reports that El País interpreted the aim as showing that Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish cities and then “normalise” the relationship with Morocco.
Military preparations and stakes
A Spanish Army CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopter flew over Ceuta on Friday, days before King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia are due to make their first official visit to the city since Felipe took the throne in 2014. The CH-47F is one of Spain’s main heavy-transport military helicopters and it can carry troops, vehicles and large loads and is also used for medical evacuation and logistical missions.
Mohammed VI’s speech on October 9 includes criticisms and disagreements with Spain and states that he rejects pressure and blackmail, while it argues the speech “does not announce a rupture.” El Mundo adds that it expects a hard negotiation for Spain’s next government and says it must brace itself “striving to avoid confrontation and shunning appeasement.”