Spanish police have launched an operation to relocate hundreds of migrants from Ceuta's beaches to a new tented facility in the port area. The relocation is part of the government's effort to concentrate migrants in controlled facilities where they can be identified, cared for, and have their administrative status determined. The operation is significant because it represents a major attempt to manage the aftermath of a chaotic mass migration surge that has caused considerable political and social upheaval in the Spanish territory.

The operation began on Friday morning with more than 3,000 migrants being transferred to a camp with a capacity of 1,700. The process was marked by chaos, with migrants breaking through police cordons and reports of police firing into the air, though authorities subsequently brought the situation under control. An estimated 13,000 migrants currently remain in Ceuta (down from 72,000 who crossed in July), following a Supreme Court ruling that prevented their summary return to Morocco and subsequent misinformation campaigns encouraging the crossing. The incident has intensified political criticism of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, with opposition parties claiming he knew of the influx in advance—a claim contradicted by Sánchez but complicated by intelligence documents showing warnings were issued the day before the crossing occurred.