Colau criticizes Sánchez's Ceuta response and urges a review of Morocco ties

Colau judges the Ceuta response

Ada Colau, Frente Amplio's candidate in the 29 November elections, said the government's handling of the migration crisis in Ceuta during the first weeks of August was 'bad', and that it improved only later. In an interview with podcaster Jordi Wild on The Wild Project, she said she did not understand the government's actions in August or why it did not give a greater response. She argued that the state had shown in other crises, such as the reception of Ukrainian refugees after Russia's invasion, that it has the resources to handle a complex situation with thousands of people.

“I think the first response from the government, and specifically from the presidency, was not the best.”

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited Ceuta on 31 July while migrants were entering in large numbers, and the next day he began his holidays at La Mareta in Lanzarote, according to El Confidencial. Colau said that in a crisis of this gravity leaders must be present and mobilize the resources needed so the situation does not fester and residents do not feel abandoned.

Morocco, the EU and Rabat's denial

Colau said it was impossible for more than 70,000 people to cross into Ceuta without Morocco's permission, and called for a review of relations with Rabat, adding that she hoped this was being handled discreetly. She assigned indirect responsibility to the European Union for outsourcing border control to third countries that may have other interests, naming the United States and Israel as examples.

“I think it is impossible that what happened in Ceuta could have occurred without Morocco allowing it.”

Morocco denies any role. Its Foreign Ministry said in September that there were no facts or reports showing involvement by Moroccan authorities, and rejected being a scapegoat for political settling of scores in Spain. Minister Nasser Bourita went further at the United Nations, saying the questions about migrants and minors who had not returned should be put to Spain rather than Morocco. Sánchez told Congress on 3 September that for ten hours on 30 July the Moroccan gendarmerie had allowed the border crossing, but he did not blame Rabat for inaction. He has described migration cooperation with Morocco as 'francamente positiva' and acknowledged that cooperation 'has to be different' after what happened.

Immigration and the Barcelona arrest figures

Wild said nine in ten theft arrests in Barcelona in 2024 involved foreigners. Colau asked for the source, and the podcast's fact-checkers confirmed the 91% figure and attributed it to El Mundo. El Mundo's 2025 reporting, based on Generalitat police data, recorded 5,442 theft arrests in Barcelona in 2024, of which 4,942 were of foreign nationals (90.8%). Maldita.es rated the claim 'verdadero' after checking it with the Mossos d'Esquadra. Colau said that during her time as mayor most people arrested were Spanish, recalling quarterly meetings with police, though she did not recall the exact percentage. Guardia Urbana figures for the first half of 2022 show 2,247 of 2,939 arrests were of foreigners, according to the force's reply to Valents. Arrests are not the same as all crimes, and the Mossos do not routinely publish the nationality of those arrested.

Total theft arrests5,442

Arrests of foreign nationals4,942

Total theft arrests

5442 arrests

Arrests of foreign nationals

4942 arrests

Data from the article text

On immigration more broadly, Colau said the seven million foreign residents in Spain pay 10% of Social Security contributions and account for only 1% of spending. Social Security minister Elma Saiz gave a similar figure in July 2024, but that 1% refers to Social Security spending, not total public spending. The INE counted 7,437,543 foreign residents on 1 July, and foreigners now make up 16.4% of Social Security affiliates according to October data.

“I affirm that immigration in itself is not a problem.”

Corruption, coalition and the left

Colau said she would have demanded more explanations and anti-corruption measures from Sánchez after the cases involving former PSOE organization secretaries José Luis Ábalos and Santos Cerdán, but she still defended agreements with the PSOE. She said that if corruption affected the party rather than only one person, it would be grounds to break the coalition. She blamed Podemos for failing to negotiate a joint left candidacy, saying 15 parties wanted to join and one did not. The two-hour-and-15-minute interview drew more than 100,000 live viewers and passed 300,000 views within two hours.