Robles challenges Sánchez: she will reveal the CNI warning if dismissed

Robles against Sánchez: the CNI warning the Government denies

In the middle of the Ceuta crisis, Spain's Government has become entangled in a glaring contradiction: an official statement denies claims that the Government itself had hinted at regarding prior warnings from the CNI (Spain's intelligence service). Defence Minister Margarita Robles has been the trigger.

Robles, during her appearance before Congress, suggested that the intelligence services did warn about the mass arrival of migrants to the autonomous city. And she went further: she hinted that, if she is dismissed, she will make public the circumstances surrounding 25 CNI agents who allegedly informed the Government Delegation in advance of the humanitarian catastrophe.

The threat is no small matter. The minister faces a lawsuit from judge Presencia against her and six justices of the Supreme Court for the crimes of stampede and treason. The filing, which has already leaked, relies on article 557.5 of the Incivil Code, which punishes anyone who provokes a stampede in a public place endangering human lives.

Robles's two uncomfortable truths

"Ceuta is Spanish and the CNI warned about the invasion." These are the two statements that have enraged a wing of the PSOE (Spain's Socialist Party), which is already plotting against the minister. Some readings go further: if the CNI was politically "compromised", everything fits. But the Government, in its statement, rushed to deny the second part.

Meanwhile, the question echoing through the halls of Congress is how long Robles will hold on to her post. One side analysis put it ironically: "She has two news bulletins left". Time will tell whether the threat to expose the CNI reports is a bluff or the last bullet of a cornered minister.