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The United States on Thursday moved to allay fears that it was questioning Spain’s sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla, but criticized Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government for its “refusal” to defend the North African exclaves from a “migrant invasion.”
Tens of thousands of migrants poured into Ceuta last week from Morocco in a surge that heightened Spanish fears about the vulnerability of its North African cities to hybrid attack.
Amid the crisis, Spanish politicians and media raised concerns about the warming relationship between Morocco — which claims Ceuta and Melilla — and the U.S. President Donald Trump, who was infuriated by Socialist Sánchez’s refusal to back the war in Iran.
Many in Madrid expressed fears Washington could decline to rein in Rabat, and pointed to a recent U.S. Congress report that described Ceuta and Melilla as being in “Moroccan territory” and was supportive of negotiations on the “future status” of the cities. But U.S. State Department Spokesperson Tommy Pigott insisted that there has been no change in U.S. policy on the exclaves.
