{"id":5799,"date":"2026-07-31T11:37:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T11:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5799"},"modified":"2026-07-31T11:37:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T11:37:11","slug":"thousands-of-illegal-african-migrants-overrun-spanish-enclave-turn-streets-into-open-toilets-and-bathe-in-fountains-an-apocalypse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5799","title":{"rendered":"Thousands of illegal African migrants overrun Spanish enclave, turn streets into open toilets and bathe in fountains: ‘An apocalypse’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

An unprecedented wave of nearly 50,000 illegal migrants from Africa has flooded the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, prompting Spain to deploy its military \u2013 as locals liken the invasion to an \u201capocalypse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more At least 18 migrants dead as 49K breached border to reach Spain\u2019s Ceuta enclave from Morocco: \u2018Serious humanitarian crisis\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Harrowing local media reports reveal residents and business owners in Ceuta \u2013 a Spanish territory located on the north African coast \u2013 are terrified to open their doors amid the rush of migrants, many of whom arrived wearing nothing but swimwear without a penny or possession to their name.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusinesses closed. Shops shut because if you open a business, it gets overrun \u2026 We\u2019re scared. The streets are packed. There are no measures in place. It\u2019s every man for himself. They\u2019re not giving us any help,\u201d a terrified downtown restaurant owner who didn\u2019t want to give their name told state-owned Spanish media outlet RTVE.<\/p>\n

The shocking surge comes after a ruling by Spain\u2019s Supreme Court earlier this month, which said migrants intercepted at sea while attempting to reach Ceuta or Melilla, another Spanish autonomous city in northern Morocco, cannot be kicked out under the enclaves\u2019 special border-rejection regime.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a slow trickle since the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling, but today has been an explosion,\u201d a spokesperson for Spain\u2019s Guardia Civil police told Reuters on Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Spain\u2019s Interior Ministry estimated Friday that around 49,000 people had crossed by sea and land from Morocco over the past 24 hours.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the socialist Spanish government \u2014 which just months ago launched a program to give legal status to some 500,000 illegal immigrants in the country \u2014 said it deployed 200 specialized police officers and 60 troops from the mainland to assist Ceuta\u2019s own forces.<\/p>\n

However, the reinforcements were powerless in the face of such a massive migrant deluge, which consisted mostly of military-age men.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like an apocalypse. Waves of people everywhere. You can see as many people wandering around as you want,\u201d Jos\u00e9 Carlos Lara, owner of a sign-making business just over the border, told RTVE.<\/p>\n

Read more Sex rumors, personal insults and fights over Trump Jr.\u2019s affection: Inside the vicious battle between Polymarket and Kalshi<\/a><\/p>\n

He said local authorities have \u201cno capacity\u201d to deal with the chaos, and that the new arrivals are already sleeping in the streets and washing themselves in public fountains.<\/p>\n

A video shared on X by David Santos, director of right-leaning Spanish media outlet La Bandera, shows a migrant defecating on the side of a building in broad daylight.<\/p>\n

Lara added that other business owners \u2013 particularly food stores \u2013 have shut their doors in a panic, fearing widespread looting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not \u2060opening this afternoon because the situation is extremely tense \u2026 The first thing I have to do is protect my business and my family,\u201d women\u2019s clothing shop owner Enrique Serrano told Reuters, noting that businesses are taking self-defense matters into their own hands because they lack faith in cops\u2019 ability to protect them.<\/p>\n

The same is true of local residents, many of whom are afraid to walk the streets.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople aren\u2019t leaving their homes, only to buy food and then return. There\u2019s a lot of uncertainty,\u201d said Sebasti\u00e1n Ant\u00f3n, who works at a small supermarket in the middle of Ceuta. He compared the response of locals to what was seen during the darkest days of the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re buying huge amounts of food to fill their pantries as if something bad were going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Young Dems\u2019 radicalism threatens to doom their party in midterms \u2014 and beyond<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An unprecedented wave of nearly 50,000 illegal migrants from Africa has flooded the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, prompting Spain to deploy its military \u2013 as locals liken the invasion to an \u201capocalypse.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"yoast_head":"\nThousands of illegal African migrants overrun Spanish enclave, turn streets into open toilets and bathe in fountains: 'An apocalypse' - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5799\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Thousands of illegal African migrants overrun Spanish enclave, turn streets into open toilets and bathe in fountains: 'An apocalypse' - 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