On Sunday, Spanish riot police launched “Operation Trampolín” to clear out the migrant camp in Ceuta, establishing a security perimeter ahead of an upcoming royal visit to the North African enclave. Officers from the Spanish Police Intervention Unit (UIP), who came from Seville, Granada, Malaga and other regions of the country, moved in to dismantle tents along the beach amid tensions and security problems. Authorities state that the waters off El Trampolín are contaminated and that safety can no longer be guaranteed, citing a clear health risk and an increase in violent incidents.
Operation Trampolín Clears Shorelines
Law enforcement sealed off roads starting around 7:30 a.m. on the axes connecting Benítez and Benzú, and the deployment of security forces began just before 8:00 a.m. A National Police van arrived first shortly after 7:30 a.m., while music played and street vendors circulated before occupants woke up, with some fleeing toward the hills and rain starting around 8:30 a.m. Two BMR armored vehicles and a Vamtac S3 all-terrain vehicle were brought in to reinforce security, alongside additional vehicles brought from mainland Spain that had never been seen in Ceuta before, and a drone monitoring the operation from the air. Police officers moved from tent to tent and shack to shack to inform occupants they had to leave while dismantling the installations, with an interpreter explaining in Arabic where they would be transferred. Women and children are included in this first phase, although the majority of those evacuated are men. The migrants are transported by bus to the Tarajal temporary reception center (CATE) for identification and processing, with the first bus departing shortly before 9:00 a.m. according to Radio Televisión Ceuta. Some evacuees may choose to return to their countries of origin, following the example of several people evacuated from Benítez earlier in the week. Reception spaces remain available in Loma Colmenar, which can house more than 1,000 people, as well as in the port, following two previous operations in Benítez.
The prefecture of police noted that the camp housed more than 3,500 individuals and that Sunday’s operation was only a first phase. The lack of space remains the main obstacle, as a mid-September camp at the port intended for 1,700 people left more than 2,000 without solutions and back on the beaches. The Spanish government has established an October 15 deadline to complete the evacuation. The crisis began in late July when more than 70,000 people crossed from Morocco, with most returned within hours.
Royal Visit Dates and Diplomatic Pressures
The security operation precedes a royal itinerary. The Spanish Royal Household announced on Thursday, October 1, via sources cited by the Efe agency, that King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia will visit Ceuta on October 13—the day after the national holiday—and then Melilla on October 14, following reports that had circulated for several weeks. This journey marks the first time since the restoration of the monarchy in 1975 that the Spanish monarchs have visited the autonomous cities, with the exception of a visit by Juan Carlos I and Sofía in November 2007. The 2007 trip triggered a diplomatic crisis with Rabat and the recall of Morocco’s ambassador to Madrid, Omar Azziman, for consultations—lasting nearly two months before he returned to his post—coinciding at the time with the commemoration of the Green March, a national holiday celebrating Morocco’s territorial integrity.
The timing of the royal tour follows a summer marked by a migration crisis, during which more than 70,000 people crossed from Morocco in late July, primarily on July 30 and 31, with most sent back within hours.
Historical Precedents of Royal Visits
Visits by Spanish heads of state to Ceuta date back prior to the 1930s, though they became rare following Moroccan independence. Archives from the Comandancia General de Ceuta record that in 1877, Alfonso XII docked in the bay aboard the ironclad frigate Vitoria, where the general commanding greeted him. On May 3, 1904, his son Alfonso XIII disembarked from the royal yacht Giralda and inspected the garrison after stopping at Melilla and the Chafarinas Islands. Alfonso XIII returned on October 5, 1927, alongside Queen Victoria Eugenia, following the end of the Rif War and the establishment of the Spanish protectorate in northern Morocco in 1912. The king landed at the Puntilla wharf, where he was welcomed by General José Sanjurjo, Spanish High Commissioner in Morocco, and General Agustín Gómez Morato, General Commander of Ceuta, after which the queen presented the Legion with its first national flag at Dar Riffien, the corps’ headquarters located outside city limits within the Protectorate territory.
Diverging Perspectives on the Royal Presence
The upcoming royal tour has drawn commentary regarding bilateral stability. Conversely, other reports noted that Spanish officials have structured the itinerary to separate displays of sovereignty from day-to-day administrative diplomacy, noting that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will not accompany the monarchs, leaving Territorial Policy Minister Ángel Víctor Torres to accompany them in Ceuta, and government spokesperson Elma Saiz in Melilla.
With the October 15 evacuation deadline fast approaching, security forces remain deployed to process remaining camp occupants ahead of the royal delegation’s arrival on October 13.
