Spanish police clear 3,000 migrants from Ceuta beach camp

Spanish National Police deployed 350 officers on October 3 to dismantle the improvised migrant camp at El Trampolín beach in Ceuta, relocating roughly 3,000 people to the El Tarajal industrial zone. Migrants were offered transfer to a temporary reception center (CATE) or voluntary return to Morocco.

Many of those displaced moved to El Guano, a nearby shantytown that has grown since the mass arrival of nearly 80,000 migrants on July 30-31. The settlement lacks sanitation, with open sewage flowing into the sea, and houses dozens of unaccompanied minors.

“It is a total abandonment”

The accelerated clearance came days before King Felipe VI's scheduled visit and hours after Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called snap general elections. Volunteers and residents expect El Guano to be cleared imminently.

Local residents have staged protests in Ceuta's historic center, accusing the central government of abandoning the enclave. They report feeling "total abandonment" and claim authorities are "playing" with migrants' lives.

The European Union's presence is described as imperceptible by locals. Ceuta's 80,000 residents, split evenly between Christian and Muslim communities, are demanding a coordinated European response to the ongoing crisis.