Madrid Escalates Clash With Ceuta President Vivas: 'We've Decided to Defend Ourselves'

Almost 50 days into the crisis, La Moncloa moved to publicly rebut Ceuta president Juan Jesús Vivas's criticism of its handling of the migration emergency, with government sources saying 'ante tanta mentira y tantos ataques, hemos decidido defendernos' (faced with so much dishonesty and so many attacks, we've decided to defend ourselves). Vivas said Sánchez is 'not capable' of continuing in office given his government's failure to meet its constitutional obligations. The dispute centers on roughly 500 unaccompanied minors the Ministry of Youth and Childhood has offered since early August to transfer to the mainland — an offer Ceuta, which holds legal guardianship, has not authorised, with councillor Alberto Gaitán saying repatriation to Morocco remains the city's priority over mainland transfers. Asked about roughly 1,000 unattended minors, Sánchez said 'ask Vivas about that.' The government says it has activated over 6,000 shelter places, but at least 10,000 migrants remain in Ceuta without adequate accommodation; Sánchez has set a year-end target for normalising the situation.