Morocco blames Ceuta migration influx on social media, human trafficking

Moroccan authorities have blamed the recent migration influx that saw some 60,000 people pour into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on social media and human trafficking.Last week’s surge was not due to “spontaneous circumstances or circumstantial factors” but a “malicious exploitation of digital space and the activity of human trafficking networks,” the Moroccan Interior Ministry said Sunday in what was its first statement on the crisis, according to RTVE.Officials in Rabat claimed misinformation spread online relating to a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling, which determined the government couldn’t fast track immediate deportations for migrants who arrive by sea – unlike those who either scale border fences or enter via land.“Misinterpretations reinforced among some of those who wished to migrate the conviction that it was possible to avoid immediate return,” authorities added.The Rabat government claimed it deployed a “proactive and comprehensive approach” to the border crisis and vowed it’s a “reliable and responsible partner” when it comes to tackling illegal migration and human trafficking.Morocco’s blame of internet misinformation mirrors that of the Spanish government.“What has emerged from our talks with Moroccan authorities is that trafficking mafias took a self-serving interpretation of a Supreme Court ruling,” Spain’s socialist prime minister Pedro Sánchez said. He claimed the view migrants arriving by sea couldn’t be deported “spread like wildfire through the networks of human trafficking organizations.”Sánchez came under heavy criticism from his opponents after it was reported in April that the Spanish government had backed plans to give legal status to 500,000 undocumented migrants.Applications were open between April 16 and June 30 and it emerged that 1.17 million undocumented citizens had filed for legal status.Around 609,000 migrants have since been given temporary work permits and of those, around 160,000 ...