Spanish police clear the last migrant camp at Guano beach in Ceuta before royal visit

The operation on Sunday

Spanish police deployed on Sunday 11 October on the Guano esplanade and beach in Ceuta to clear what Europa Press and ABC describe as the last large space in the city with illegal tents built by migrants who arrived during the mass entry of 30 and 31 July. More than twenty vans of the Unidad de Intervención Policial (UIP) began arriving shortly after 8:00, according to ABC and Europa Press. RTVE and El Confidencial reported that the operation began shortly after eight in the morning and aimed to move the occupants to the Centro de Atención Temporal de Extranjeros (CATE) for identification. LaSexta reported that some people tried to flee when the riot police arrived, and that agents then grouped the remaining people for transfer. Cleaning crews began removing the rubbish left on the beach while the buses departed.

Who was still at Guano

Sources give differing figures for the people who remained at the site. ABC and Europa Press reported that more than 500 migrants had stayed at Guano, around 100 of them minors, while RTVE and El Confidencial put the number at around 400. LaSexta described only dozens remaining on the beach. Earlier, ABC reported that about 1,700 people were taken from the Benítez and Trampolín beaches, and that the great majority chose to return to Morocco, with the exception of minors and some small groups of adults. ABC also said that more than 3,500 people were calculated to have slept at Trampolín, and that many of the others fled to the hills, where they continue to remain. RTVE and El Confidencial state that more than 70,000 people reached Ceuta from Morocco on 30 and 31 July.

Where the migrants go next

LaSexta reported that adults are being taken to the CATE and minors to a children's centre. According to RTVE, the intention is that those processed will be placed in camps set up by the Government to host them. ABC reported that people who want to return to Morocco voluntarily can go to the Tarajal border, while those who remain are relocated to temporary reception facilities while their asylum applications are processed. ABC also reported that the Moroccans who fled are aware that their asylum requests are very likely to be denied, and that a final denial would bring an expulsion order from Spain lasting five years. Hundreds of migrants were still wandering the neighbourhoods of El Príncipe and Los Rosales, according to ABC, and Spanish authorities are progressively dismantling the pisos patera where others live.

The royal visit

King Felipe VI and Letizia are due in Ceuta on Tuesday 13 October, and LaSexta reports that it is the first time they visit the city during their reign. They will preside over a homage to the people who died at sea during the mass entry through the Tarajal border, according to RTVE. After spending the night in Ceuta, the royal couple will travel to Melilla. RTVE notes that this would be the first time a King of Spain sleeps in Ceuta since the visits of Alfonso XIII in 1904 and 1927.