Spanish security forces have reportedly identified at least a dozen individuals with prior links to jihadist terrorism among recent arrivals in the North African enclave of Ceuta. These claims, detailed in various media reports, have not yet received official confirmation from authorities.
Officers from the National Police's General Information Commissariat (CGI) and the Civil Guard's Intelligence Headquarters (JIGC) are said to have conducted an analysis of surveillance footage. This analysis reportedly led to the identification of individuals who had previously faced arrest, conviction, and subsequent deportation to Morocco for offenses connected to jihadist terrorism.
Spain's Interior Ministry, National Police, and Civil Guard have been contacted for comment regarding these reports, but no response has been received to date.
The alleged identifications emerge against a backdrop of evolving threats, with terrorism experts interviewed last week describing the jihadist threat in Spain as having entered a "fourth phase." This new phase is characterized by a shift towards increasingly decentralized radicalization, primarily facilitated through social media, messaging applications, and propaganda shared via memes and short videos, rather than through traditional hierarchical organizations.
These experts also underscored the vital importance of close counter-terrorism cooperation between Spain and Morocco. They highlighted intelligence sharing and the monitoring of radicalized individuals as crucial elements, particularly when screening large-scale migration flows.
A similar controversy arose in May 2021, when thousands of migrants entered Ceuta via the El Tarajal breakwater. At that time, the Spanish government publicly dismissed media reports alleging that jihadist militants had infiltrated the arrivals, labeling such claims as a "malicious hoax."
