Ceuta police face overcrowding, no AC or food

Seven officers per room, no air conditioning and no food in Ceuta

A paradox defines the management of the migration crisis in Ceuta: reinforcement agents sleep in overcrowded conditions while the Government boasts about controlling the border. The Spanish Police Union (CEP) has made its complaint public: rooms housing seven agents, no climate control in the height of summer, and difficulties covering meal costs.

The events date back to July 30 and 31, when hundreds of people entered the city from Segarro. The Executive responded by deploying National Police units, including the UIP. The personnel, assigned to restore normality to the streets, found accommodations that were not up to the operation's demands.

Conditions denounced by the CEP

The CEP has voiced this discontent: rooms designed for two or three people occupied by seven agents, absence of air conditioning, and deficiencies in food provision. This is not a minor issue: an agent's physical conditions determine their response capacity in a device presumed critical. Moreover, this unrest is not new. In 2017, police and civil guards already reported chaos regarding the Moby Dada ferry, used as emergency accommodation in the city.

The cost of improvisation

The underlying debate is budgetary. Each migration crisis catches the Government with unfinished homework: there is no infrastructure to house reinforcements in dignified conditions, and urgent solutions end up costing more in image and effectiveness. Some argue that the lack of foresight in migration policy directly impacts police forces, who pay the price of resourceless management. Against this view, another current denies empathy: agents, they say, trinc orders from an Executive they consider part of the problem, and do not deserve compassion for it. The discussion mixes legitimate criticism of administration with ideological score-settling.

With dozens of agents in the city and unresolved migration pressure, the lingering question is simple: if this is what the Government offers those defending the border, what can be expected for other public services? No official response has arrived yet. Only the embarrassment of another summer in Ceuta.