Pedro Sánchez pointed to Russia and Israel as responsible for the migratory crisis in Ceuta, suggesting that both countries would have resorted to disinformation to worsen the situation. The Spanish Prime Minister associated Moscow and Tel Aviv with disinformation campaigns that would have influenced the massive flow of migrants to the Spanish enclave.
Jorge Silva Carvalho, former director of SIED (Strategic Defense Intelligence Service), recognizes that Russia has been using immigration for years as an instrument of hybrid warfare and social media to accentuate divisions in European democracies, considering that "this is not debatable." However, the former intelligence chief warned of the need to distinguish between Russia's known actions and the specific accusations made by Sánchez.
According to Silva Carvalho, there is a fundamental difference between recognizing Russia's pattern of behavior and concluding that Moscow directly provoked the mass entry of migrants into Ceuta. The former SIED director argued that placing Israel "on the same level" as Russia in matters of disinformation is a mistake, since Tel Aviv "does not have and never has had" a disinformation policy comparable to Russia's.
The former intelligence chief also explained how these disinformation campaigns work, why they remain effective, and where they seek to wound democratic societies. In his view, the main objective of these operations "is not debatable" is to empower the extremes within the societies they target.
