Spain's security chief : Morocco poses no threat to national security

In response to inquiries from Iberian media, Monday, the head of Spain's National Security Department, General Loreto Gutiérrez Hurtado, stated that Morocco is not currently considered a threat in Spain's national security strategy.

«We have working groups on Ceuta and Melilla, just as we do for all other autonomous communities», General Hurtado, who assumed office in November 2023, explained. «Our responsibility is to defend the state, and at this time, there's nothing specific regarding a threat from Morocco».

This stance echoes a similar statement made in November 2021 by Admiral Teodoro López Calderón, the current head of Spain's armed forces, who declared that «Morocco does not pose a threat to Ceuta and Melilla». These previous assurances, however, were met with criticism from right-wing and far-right parties.

This is not an isolated incident. In March 2024, the Department of Security excluded Morocco from its list of countries posing a direct threat to Spanish security, which includes nations like China and Russia.

Additionally, a Department of Homeland Security report from August 2021 analyzed the implications of US recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara for both Spain and the Sahel region. In March 2022, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez conveyed his support for Morocco's autonomy plan for the Sahara in a message to King Mohammed VI.