Nothing says "we have everything under control" quite like thousands of people swimming around your breakwater and busting through your fences in TWO separate cities on the same day. That's exactly what happened on Tuesday when Spain's territorial enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla both experienced massive border breaches within hours of each other, as Trending Politics reported.
Let's start with Ceuta, the Spanish territory sitting across the Strait of Gibraltar. State broadcaster TVE put the number of people who crossed from Morocco at somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000, with many literally swimming their way in or slipping through broken sections of fence. Other estimates suggested the real number could be north of 10,000. Video from the scene showed border guards getting completely overwhelmed, which is the polite way of saying they were outnumbered roughly a thousand to one.
Ceuta's president, Juan Jesús Vivas, called it "a situation of total humanitarian and social emergency" and asked the central government to declare a national emergency while requesting extra police and military backup. The Spanish government's response? They deployed military units to help out the Guardia Civil and released a carefully worded statement about "reinforcing" security powers. The Interior Ministry said it would coordinate with Moroccan authorities on returning people who entered irregularly. So basically, strongly worded paperwork.
Here's the kicker. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's government decided this whole situation did NOT qualify as a "national emergency." Thousands of people pouring across your border apparently doesn't meet the threshold. One has to wonder what exactly WOULD qualify. A polite letter asking permission first?
But wait, there's more! Because apparently one border crisis per day just isn't enough excitement. Around 10 p.m. that same evening, attention turned to Melilla, where an undetermined number of Moroccan nationals attempted mass entry at the Beni Enzar crossing and the Dique Sur area. Authorities temporarily shut down the border crossing and asked residents to please stay away from the perimeter so security forces could actually do their jobs.
Local residents reported hearing explosions. Footage showed vehicles being set ablaze. Additional video captured people chanting "Allahu Akbar" while crossing the border, and others were seen breaking into homes in the surrounding area. Melilla's president, Juan José Imbroda, confirmed that roughly 400 people managed to get through, noting that while July had seen increased arrivals, this was a different beast than what happened in Ceuta.
Spanish police worked to redirect groups away from the border zone, and at least two ambulances were stationed nearby, though no official injury counts were released for the Melilla incident.
Prime Minister Sánchez, whose government recently granted amnesty to millions of migrants, assured everyone he was "fully committed" to providing an immediate response and planned to visit Ceuta the following day with Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska. He promised to mobilize "all necessary resources" and work with Moroccan and international authorities to "restore normalcy." Because if there's one thing that screams normalcy, it's needing the actual military to guard your border fences.
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