Videos show Spanish soldiers beating migrants in Ceuta streets
Verified footage released depicts soldiers assaulting migrants near El Príncipe and the Trampolín area in Ceuta.
Multiple authenticated videos show Spanish military personnel pursuing migrants in Ceuta, forcing them onto a hill near Loma Colmenar and beating them with batons. In a later incident near the former Guano Factory, two soldiers grabbed a lone migrant, struck him repeatedly, and fled after being filmed. Several eyewitnesses corroborated the attacks and noted the soldiers halted when they realized they were being recorded.
The Ministry of Defense declined to comment, while sources from the government in Madrid said they were horrified by the footage and would launch an internal probe. Local residents reported similar complaints of excessive force by soldiers, who are not tasked with policing duties. The incidents occurred amid a continued presence of thousands of migrants living in makeshift shelters across the city.
Why it matters
The footage raises serious concerns about military conduct and the treatment of migrants in Spanish territory.
How this story developed
- Aug 21 Spanish police detain five suspected migrant smugglers operating from Ceuta
- Sep 9 The interior ministry publicly acknowledged creating the dossier.
- Sep 10 Government criticized for declassifying security alerts and for claiming the warning was only a low‑level WhatsApp message.
- Sep 10 Judge María Tardón filed a request for copies of the declassified intelligence reports.
- Sep 10 Regional economy minister asserted that the national government possessed advance intelligence on the Ceuta crossing and did not implement preventive measures.
- Sep 11 Czech and Hungarian leaders condemned the EU’s emergency aid for Ceuta.
- Sep 12 A police‑commissioned report described Moroccan border police as unusually sparse and granting migrants “total permission.”
- Sep 13 Minister Sira Rego urged autonomous communities to assume responsibility for Ceuta’s unaccompanied minors.
- Sep 13 The foreign minister announced an urgent trip to Brussels for talks with EU officials.
- Sep 16 The Guardia Civil raided a cramped apartment on Real street in central Ceuta, finding 25 migrants - six of them minors - living in squalid conditions.
- Sep 18 The Audiencia Nacional's Contentious‑Administrative Chamber approved the use of Ceuta port for a temporary migrant shelter.
- Sep 18 about 850 migrants were settled in 50 tents at the port while others returned to beach camps
- Sep 19 The port camp filled within hours, leaving many migrants still without shelter on the streets and beaches.
- Sep 24 Sánchez formally requested explanations and corrective measures from Morocco.
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