The Government of Madrid took over this weekend direct control of an area of the Port of Ceuta through an extraordinary ministerial decree, determining the occupation of 16 thousand square meters of public port domain. The decision, signed by the Spanish Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, aims at the immediate installation of tents for the temporary reception of over a thousand migrants at the Poniente breakwater of the Spanish enclave in North Africa.
The state intervention comes after the refusal of the local port administration, managed by the authorities of the autonomous city, which issued an unfavorable vote on Friday considering the transfer "incompatible with the normal operation of the port." The refusal was based on a technical report from the state entity Ports of the State that warned of risks associated with the protection of critical infrastructure and port operations.
The ministerial decree justifies the avocation of powers with "the exceptional nature of the situation in Ceuta," in response to a request from the State Secretariat for Migration. The new facilities, of a strictly provisional nature, include rest dormitories, infirmary and pharmacy stations, social support areas, sanitary blocks, administrative offices and a post reserved for security forces.
The pressure on Ceuta intensified after the massive entries at the end of July, when over 70 thousand people attempted to cross the border or swim around the sea breakwaters. Although over 90 percent left the territory in the following hours, at least five thousand migrants remain in the city, hundreds without formal shelter. On Thursday, groups of residents again protested against the provisional centers, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez classified the entries as territorial aggression, pointing the responsibility at trafficking networks that exploited misinformation on social media.
