Protesters in Ceuta attack car carrying local deputy and human rights activists
Police fired warning shots and escorted Ceuta Ya! deputy Julia Villegas after dozens of demonstrators attacked her vehicle with stones and eggs during a protest against arriving activists at the port of Ceuta.
Port confrontation and vehicle attack
Around 50 demonstrators gathered at the port exit in Ceuta on Sunday evening, 20 September 2026, starting at 18:45. The crowd mobilized through social media to intercept members of the Pamplona-based collective Negu Gorriak, also known as Derecho a Techo, who announced plans to arrive by ferry. Demonstrators shouted slogans rejecting the Basque group, chanting anti-ETA slogans and accusing the incoming activists of disrupting local coexistence. Shortly after 19:00, protesters confronted a grey vehicle driven by Assembly of Ceuta deputy Julia Villegas, who was accompanied by UN human rights lawyer Sofía Acevedo and Gaza Flotilla activist Rafael Borrego. Mistaking Borrego for a member of the activist group, demonstrators blocked the car, threw eggs and stones, rocked the chassis, and caused substantial damage to the bodywork.
Villegas explained the sequence of events during the incident:
I was going to pick up Rafael, who had approached the demonstration; he has been here for several days with the UN worker Sofia Acevedo. The demonstrators started to harass him, telling him that he was one of the pro-ETA supporters, and when he came to the car to flee from them, they started throwing eggs and stones at us; they destroyed it.
- Several hundred demonstrators march to the El Tarajal border crossing demanding stricter border protection.
- Around 50 demonstrators gather at the Ceuta port vehicle exit to intercept arriving activists.
- Protesters attack a vehicle carrying Ceuta Ya! deputy Julia Villegas and human rights monitors.
- Demonstrators surround the car, prompting police charges and warning shots into the air.
Police response and detentions
National Police units, including members of the Police Intervention Units (UIP) and Prevention and Reaction Units (UPR), intervened at the port to protect the occupants and clear a path for the vehicle. Officers escorted the damaged car away from the crowd and guided Villegas, Borrego, and Acevedo to a local police station to file a formal complaint. As hostility escalated after 20:15, riot police deployed smoke canisters, charged the demonstrators, and fired warning shots into the air to disperse the gathering. Protesters redirected their shouts toward the officers, telling them to go to the migrant settlement at El Trampolín beach instead of policing the port. Police detained between one and two demonstrators during the clashes and held them for formal identification.
Activist mission and regional tensions
The protest followed an announcement by Negu Gorriak stating that its members were traveling from Pamplona with humanitarian aid for Moroccan migrants following entries recorded in July. In a press release, the collective stated that its goal was to act as human shields against violence faced by refugees in Ceuta and to document actions by security forces. Local residents at the port objected to the group's arrival, arguing that migrant assistance should remain exclusively under municipal and national authority. The port confrontation followed a separate demonstration held earlier that day at midday, when several hundred people marched to the El Tarajal border crossing to demand reinforced border controls and assert the Spanish status of the autonomous city. Ceuta Ya! leader Mohamed Mustafa confirmed the assault on social media, verifying that the party filed charges regarding the incident.
