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Balearics: 3,723 boat migrants spark government row

Responsible for this content: Frank Menze

Newly released documents on the Ceuta crisis put 3,723 people arriving by small boat in the Balearic Islands by 22 July. They made the crossing in 195 vessels, according to a 23 July report by the National Police’s National Centre for Immigration and Borders (CENIF). The figures have fuelled a dispute between Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Balearic leader Marga Prohens.

Archivo - El presidente del Gobierno, Pedro Sánchez, y la presidenta de Baleares, Marga Prohens, se reúnen en el Consolat de Mar, a 29 de julio de 2026, en Palma de Mallorca, Islas Baleares (España).
Europa Press

The report covers arrivals from 16 to 22 July. Compared with the previous year, the number of people rose by 8%, while the number of boats increased by 9%.

Intelligence service sees continued upward trend

A 27 July paper from the National Intelligence Centre (CNI) records 9,547 migrant arrivals to mainland Spain, the Balearics and the Canary Islands by 30 June. That was 44% higher than in the same period of 2025.

Algeria was the only departure country where flows were increasing, with 5,501 migrants, up 29% on the previous year. The CNI said continued arrivals into Algeria from neighbouring countries and good summer sailing conditions could keep the upward trend going. Military operations in southern Libya could also increase arrivals into Algeria, it said.

Sánchez comments prompt Prohens demand

The Balearics entered the political argument after Sánchez addressed the Ceuta crisis in Congress last week. He rejected claims that the National Police had warned of a “high risk” in Ceuta, while confirming the report existed and saying it referred “exclusively” to sea arrivals to mainland Spain and the Balearics.

The following day, Prohens called an extraordinary press conference in Palma. She demanded all reports from the state security forces which she understood to warn of a “mass arrival” on Balearic coasts.

Prohens said Sánchez’s remarks showed the government had withheld highly sensitive information about the archipelago’s security. She also criticised him for not raising the issue when they met in Palma on 29 July.

Topics: Police · Migration · Politics · Palma

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com