Madrid Takes Control of Ceuta's Port, Authorising 16,000 m² of Tents Over Port Authority's Objection

Transport Minister Óscar Puente signs an order under Article 73.3 of the State Ports and Merchant Marine Act authorising the State Secretariat for Migration to temporarily occupy roughly 16,000 m² of public port domain at Ceuta's Poniente dock extension — an area equivalent to about two football pitches — to erect tents housing rest areas, medical services, a dispensary, social support, sanitary facilities and administrative offices for more than 1,000 migrants. The move overrides a vote by the Ceuta Port Authority's own board against the installation, with Madrid invoking central-government port jurisdiction to proceed regardless while leaving formal ownership with the Port Authority. It follows Ceuta president Juan Jesús Vivas's repeated demands that Madrid prioritise returns over new accommodation, and comes as estimates of migrants still in the city diverge sharply — the government citing roughly 5,000, while Vivas and Reuters both cite figures above 10,000.