Morocco expels Spanish TVE and EFE journalists from Castillejos near Ceuta border amid migration crackdown

Expulsion from Castillejos

On Saturday, 15 August 2026, Moroccan authorities ordered journalists from Spanish public broadcaster TVE and news agency EFE to leave Castillejos (Fnideq), the town bordering Ceuta, where they were covering migration movements and the social situation near the frontier. Youssef Hajji, a representative of the Moroccan Interior Ministry, communicated the order verbally, citing only that he was "following instructions," with no formal explanation. The journalists were told their press credentials and equipment could be confiscated if they did not comply, and hotels where they were staying received orders from local authorities to have them leave immediately.

What the journalists were covering

The teams had been reporting on Moroccan riot police dispersing hundreds of migrants who were attempting to reach the Ceuta border. TVE correspondent in Rabat, Arantxa Marculeta, said they were unable to film the police intervention because local authorities told them to leave the area. She said they were working alongside Moroccan and Spanish press, including EFE.

We are doing this connection by phone because they have also told us that we cannot take the TVE camera out anywhere in Castillejos. That we could not work in the city, that we had to leave it. And that if we did, we could lose our press permits, which are what allow us to work in the country.

According to the Moroccan newspaper Hespress, nearly 300 people were detained on Saturday while attempting to enter Ceuta irregularly from Fnideq. TVE's correspondent reported more than 140 people "intervened." Moroccan riot police used tear gas to disperse the migrants, who were mostly sub-Saharan, after they were stopped at a police cordon two kilometres from the border.

Reactions from RTVE and EFE

RTVE issued a statement expressing its "most energetic rejection" of the expulsion. The corporation's president, José Pablo López, called the incident an obstacle of enormous gravity to press freedom and the right to information, and demanded that Moroccan authorities provide full guarantees and maximum respect so journalists can work freely in the border area.

The expulsion of our professionals from the town of Castillejos constitutes an obstacle of enormous gravity to press freedom and the right to information.

EFE president Miguel Ángel Oliver defended the right to freedom of information, noting that EFE has had an important delegation in Morocco for sixty years. EFE contacted the Moroccan Interior Ministry and received no response.

Spanish government response

The Spanish government, through Moncloa sources, stated that press freedom is protected "at all times and in all parts of the world" and that the Spanish Embassy in Rabat is in permanent contact with the affected journalists and Moroccan authorities, seeking a solution to the incident.

Migration context

The expulsion comes amid heightened migration pressure at the Ceuta border. Two weeks earlier, more than 72,000 people entered Ceuta on foot or by swimming. On Wednesday, 12 August, Moroccan authorities announced measures to contain a possible new migration flow toward Ceuta. Social media posts had circulated claiming the border between Fnideq and Melilla would be "open" on 15 August, a holiday in Spain.