By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
CEUTA, Spain — Spanish authorities have completed a major operation to remove approximately 500 migrants from a sprawling coastal encampment in Ceuta, dismantling the last large settlement along the territory’s beaches just two days before King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia are scheduled to arrive for a historic royal visit. Despite the clearance, residents say the North African Spanish territory continues to struggle with unauthorized migration, deteriorating public spaces and fears about neighborhood safety.
The Sunday operation involved more than 350 personnel from Spain’s National Police, Civil Guard, local police and armed forces, who converged on the Guano esplanade early in the morning. The coordinated intervention cleared the site within approximately two hours, ending weeks of occupation by migrants who had established makeshift shelters near the shoreline during a broader migration crisis affecting the Spanish enclave.
According to La Vanguardia’s account of the operation, officers began the evacuation around 8 a.m., directing migrants toward one of two options: voluntarily return to neighboring Morocco through the Tarajal border crossing or be transported to a Temporary Foreigners’ Assistance Center, known as CATE, for identification and subsequent placement in designated reception facilities. Authorities had not established a final public accounting of how many migrants chose each option when the initial reports were published.
Spanish Territorial Policy Minister Ángel Víctor Torres, who has coordinated the government’s response to the migration emergency, said authorities had completed their planned coastal clearances ahead of an Oct. 15 deadline. The minister indicated that approximately 12,000 migrants had returned to Morocco since Aug. 10, although substantial numbers continued to remain elsewhere in Ceuta, including residential districts beyond the cleared beaches.
The Guano evacuation involved specialized police intervention units, immigration personnel, aerial surveillance capabilities and logistical support from military and maritime authorities. Armored vehicles, police transport buses, a drone and Civil Guard patrol boats were deployed as part of the coordinated operation. Some migrants reportedly left the settlement before they could be processed, moving toward surrounding hills, while minors encountered during the intervention were taken to facilities designated for their care.
The scale of the environmental cleanup became apparent after the encampment was dismantled. Ceuta’s Department of the Environment, Urban Services and Housing reported that municipal crews had removed 105 metric tons of accumulated waste by Sunday evening, with additional work required to restore the affected beachfront.
The municipal cleanup effort included collecting abandoned shelter materials, household refuse and debris that had accumulated during more than two months of occupation. Officials said the restoration would continue until the area met acceptable cleanliness and sanitation standards, following similar work undertaken at other recently cleared beaches.
Conditions along the coastline remained a source of frustration for residents who had previously used the area for recreation. Following the evacuation, abandoned camping equipment, plastic bags, discarded cans, cigarette butts and other refuse remained scattered along sections of the shoreline. Police vehicles continued monitoring access points Sunday afternoon to prevent the settlement from being reestablished while municipal workers removed the remaining debris.
One local resident who witnessed the clearance told La Vanguardia that “there was no one left by 10:00a.m.” The resident also expressed concern about the long-term damage to the beach, saying the area “will never be the same again.”
“It will take a long time to recover, right now there’s nothing but trash, and we can’t swim in this water because it’s so dirty,” the resident said.
The extent of the Guano police intervention was also documented by the local news outlet El Faro de Ceuta, which recorded the removal of the encampment and the significant law enforcement presence involved in the operation.
Although the clearance marked the conclusion of the government’s major coastal evacuation operations, conditions in residential areas remain a concern for many inhabitants. Unauthorized camps have continued appearing away from the shoreline, and migrants have reportedly moved into peripheral neighborhoods, abandoned buildings and other temporary shelters, leaving the broader migration emergency unresolved.
Residents interviewed by El Mundo about conditions across Ceuta described persistent disorder and anxiety, with makeshift tents still visible along neighborhood streets. One particularly prominent gathering remained at the central square of Poblado de Regulares, where residents reported that an entire encampment continued operating despite the removal of the larger coastal settlements.
Among those expressing concern was an 80-year-old resident identified as Mina, who described how conditions around her home had affected her willingness to venture outdoors. She said disturbances during the evening had become a recurring problem, leaving her fearful of encountering trouble in the neighborhood.
“At night there’s noise all the time, there are fights, it’s a terrible situation,” Mina told El Mundo.
“I don’t go out at all, I’m afraid,” she added, explaining that she had rarely ventured beyond her residence in recent weeks apart from walking a few steps “to stretch my legs.”
Mina said she had spent her entire life in a residence originally constructed to accommodate soldiers stationed at a nearby military barracks. She now shares the property with one of her sons, while her other children have left Ceuta. Her account illustrates the concerns expressed by longtime residents who say the migration emergency has disrupted routines and diminished their sense of personal security.
The continuing presence of migrants in residential neighborhoods underscores the limits of the coastal clearance effort. Although the removal of large beachfront settlements has allowed municipal authorities to begin restoring public spaces, the operations have not eliminated unauthorized migration or resolved questions about accommodation, border enforcement and security throughout the enclave.
Ceuta occupies a strategically significant position on the North African coast, bordered by Morocco and separated from mainland Spain by the Strait of Gibraltar. As Spanish territory and part of the European Union, the enclave has long experienced migration pressures, particularly along the heavily monitored land border separating it from Morocco.
The current emergency intensified after large numbers of migrants crossed into Ceuta through the Tarajal area during the summer. La Vanguardia reported that approximately 70,000 people had entered during a major influx in July, overwhelming portions of the territory’s reception infrastructure and contributing to the proliferation of temporary camps along beaches and within residential districts.
The recent police actions form part of a broader government effort to restore public order, process migrants and reclaim areas occupied by unauthorized settlements. Authorities have also indicated that enforcement operations will continue in neighborhoods where migrants remain outside established reception arrangements, including Los Rosales and El Príncipe.
The latest clearances have unfolded immediately before a significant event for Ceuta: the scheduled arrival of Spain’s monarch and queen on Tuesday, Oct. 13. The royal itinerary includes an overnight stay before King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia proceed to neighboring Melilla on Wednesday, bringing renewed national attention to Spain’s two autonomous territories on the African continent.
The visit will be the first official appearance by a reigning Spanish monarch in Ceuta in nearly two decades. The overnight stay is also expected to represent a milestone, as almost a century has passed since a Spanish monarch last spent the night in the territory.
Preparations have included extensive cleaning, municipal improvements and arrangements intended to welcome the royal couple. According to local reporting on the planned royal reception, authorities have also organized the distribution of Spanish and Ceuta flags for residents wishing to participate in welcoming the king and queen. Access restrictions and other logistical measures are being introduced around portions of the royal itinerary.
The timing of the Guano evacuation has placed additional attention on the relationship between the government’s migration response and the royal visit. Although authorities have presented the removal of coastal settlements as part of an established program with an Oct. 15 completion target, Sunday’s operation brought the final major beachfront clearance to a conclusion approximately 48 hours before the monarchs’ arrival.
For municipal officials, the removal of the settlements offers an opportunity to restore coastal spaces and address sanitation problems that developed during the occupation. The environmental recovery effort remains substantial, however, and cleanup crews must still contend with the accumulated waste and damage left across areas that had been occupied for weeks.
For residents facing continuing disturbances in their neighborhoods, the more immediate issue is whether the government’s interventions will produce lasting changes beyond the areas scheduled for public attention during the royal visit. The persistence of makeshift camps away from the shoreline and reports of migrants sheltering in outlying districts indicate that further enforcement and reception measures will be required.
As Ceuta prepares to receive King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, the territory stands at a critical stage in its response to the migration emergency. Its largest coastal encampments have been dismantled, and restoration efforts are underway, but the unresolved presence of migrants throughout residential areas means that restoring everyday conditions remains a challenge extending beyond the royal visit.
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