A leading figure in Spain’s opposition sharply attacked the country’s Socialist prime minister, accusing him of betraying Spain over the government’s response to a surge of migrants entering a North African enclave.
Santiago Abascal, who heads the right-wing Vox party, made the remarks during a session of parliament, questioning whether Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was facing pressure or blackmail from Morocco as tensions mounted over the migrant crisis in Ceuta.
In the confrontation, Abascal denounced Sánchez as a “traitor” and also referred to him as “a dog.”
Vox leader Santiago Abascal and parliamentary spokesperson Pepa Millan are seen during a plenary session at the Congress of Deputies in Madrid on Wednesday. Abascal displayed letters spelling out “traidor,” the Spanish word for traitor, while directing his criticism at Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. (Europa Press via Getty Images)
Sánchez fired back during the tense exchange, responding: “I may be a dog, but I have no master.”
Abascal then held up sheets of paper one by one that spelled out “Traidor,” Spanish for “Traitor.” Sánchez then sat down.
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Spain has seen major protests in response to the migrant arrivals in Ceuta, with critics blaming Sánchez for the crisis and some accusing him of pandering to Morocco.
Sánchez hit back at Abascal, saying, “I may be a dog, but I have no master.” (Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images)
More than 70,000 migrants poured into Ceuta in July. Most of them have returned to Morocco, but many remain in the enclave, with some living in tent encampments on the beach.
Meanwhile, Spain’s national intelligence agency issued multiple warnings before the mass crossing of migrants from Morocco into Ceuta in late July, according to declassified documents released by the government on Wednesday, The Associated Press reported.
On July 29, a day before people began crossing into Ceuta, the National Intelligence Center (CNI) sent an alert via WhatsApp to the Spanish government’s delegation in Ceuta about calls on social media “for an assault on the fence and by sea tomorrow at 8 p.m.”
“There are two different groups with a total of 180,000 followers,” the declassified WhatsApp message said, “just to give you an idea of its scale.”