Post #4343880
2026-08-02 09:31 UTC
The Timing is Relevant
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited Algeria last week for the first time in four years—Morocco's rival in the region. Spain wants to improve its relations with Algeria. This displeases several actors: not only the USA, which wants to isolate Algeria, but also the King of Morocco, who views Algeria as the main enemy of Moroccan interests. That Morocco's government may have brought the migrants to the border itself is shown by videos of vans full of people stopping near the border under the supervision of Moroccan police. Investigations by the New York Times also support this assumption; numerous participants in those reports recount being instructed by Moroccan police officers to go to the border.
Replies (1)
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@grassrootsforeurope@mas.to 2026-08-02 09:32
In the past, Morocco has repeatedly used migration flows to Ceuta and Melilla as political leverage against Spain. In 2021, the Spanish government had the leader of the Western Sahara independence movement, the Polisario, flown in under a false name from Algerian exile to be treated for a severe COVID-19 illness without informing Morocco. For Morocco, this was a provocation because it views the Polisario as an opponent in the Western Sahara conflict, and Algeria also regards Morocco as an enemy.