DGT traffic cameras in Ceuta go dark, sparking censorship suspicions

DGT switches off Ceuta's cameras and fuels the controversy

In Ceuta, the DGT's (Spain's traffic authority) cameras are offline. All of them. The traffic portal returns no images from the autonomous city, and the few public webcams run by other administrations are not responding either. The coincidence is, at the very least, striking.

The only signal still alive is the one at the harbour entrance and a beach, but with a framing that devotes 80% of the shot to the water and leaves the shoreline areas in darkness. It is precisely what makes it impossible to see whether there is anything to hide, which is exactly what raises the most suspicion.

Political readings were not long in coming. For part of the population, the blackout is an exercise in institutional censorship; for others, it responds to an attempt to limit the spread of hoaxes and misinformation. The Government has so far offered no official explanation. And in between, the most radical conspiracy theory holds that the city simply does not exist and the images are a backdrop. Everyone picks their version.

What remains is an uncomfortable pattern: the promised transparency clashes with a camera system that switches off, turns on only what is necessary and frames whatever causes no trouble. If the goal was to prevent compromising images from circulating, it has been achieved with flying colours; if it was a breakdown, the selection of shots looks suspiciously surgical. With the events of the 15th on the horizon, the question is not whether the images will return, but when and in what format.