Ceuta: The Defense Staff responds to defamatory claims against the Army

Spanish soldiers are a very battle-hardened lot, but there are limits to what they can endure when faced daily with highly unfair criticism and worse.

Ceuta and an alarming indicator of the morale of the Spanish Armed Forces
One firearm per patrol in Ceuta? This is how the armies of allied countries patrol

This Saturday night, at 9:58 PM, the Defense Staff (EMAD) posted an unusual message on its Twitter account, stating the following:

"The commitment of our military personnel to Ceuta is irrefutable, as is the respect, propriety, and consideration shown to everyone working and serving in the city.

Our mission is to help, driven by a sense of service—an ethos that is entirely incompatible with certain baseless accusations calling into question the professionalism of the Armed Forces."

You can view the EMAD message here:

A very difficult situation for the Armed Forces

Our Armed Forces are facing a critical situation due to the Moroccan-led migrant incursion into Ceuta—which began on July 30 and is being handled in an absolutely deplorable manner by Pedro Sánchez’s government (and I say this as a civilian, since our military personnel cannot say so publicly). For one thing, our soldiers are confronting the situation without being designated as agents of authority; such a designation would provide them with greater legal protection to—for instance—carry out preventive detentions of individuals suspected of, or involved in, crimes or public order disturbances while awaiting the arrival of National Police or Civil Guard officers.

Furthermore, our soldiers are facing this situation with a notable lack of adequate equipment—individually armed with batons and carrying only one firearm per patrol. This leaves them exposed to high-risk situations and constant assaults by illegal immigrants—such as those that occurred just yesterday in that Spanish city in North Africa, resulting in two Civil Guards being assaulted and a soldier suffering a fractured fibula.

Wave of attacks on social media

Furthermore, our Armed Forces are enduring an unprecedented wave of attacks on social media—an onslaught whose intensity and constant, daily nature suggest it is no longer merely spontaneous. On August 31, I warned here about the unfair criticism leveled against our Army via the Armed Forces' communication channels on almost all their posts. That criticism has now escalated into a campaign of insults and defamation, including accusations of "treason" against members of our Armed Forces.

An attack on the Spanish Army from a far-left NGO

What has likely pushed the EMAD to its limit is a story published by the pro-government outlet Eldiario.es and the newspaper El Mundo this Saturday at midday, with the headline: "Military patrol harasses NGO volunteers for two hours, hindering food distribution to migrants."

The NGO in question is No Name Kitchen, two of whose members were arrested in Ceuta for resisting authority in late August. It is a far-left organization that has been accused of providing corrosive material to illegal immigrants in Ceuta. On August 30, Vox announced legal action against the NGO, which the party has accused of distributing homemade devices to the immigrants. A day earlier, it was reported that several members of the NGO were identified by the police for distributing bottles containing a chemical mixture to illegal immigrants in Ceuta—devices that, when thrown, cause a deflagration and release gases.

Barrage of insults against the Spanish Army from the other extreme.

Curiously, following that defense of our soldiers' professionalism by the EMAD, its message has been met with a flood of criticism and insults—but from the opposite end of the political spectrum. The harshest messages come, in many cases, from neo-nazi accounts and pro-Russian activists. I warned here back on August 31st—regarding the wave of migration into Ceuta—that now, more than ever, citizens who love Spain should be supporting our armed forces, rather than subjecting them to an absurd erosion that benefits only Morocco. Instead, some are helping to fuel a shameful smear campaign against our soldiers, damaging their morale at a time when it is already severely strained by the difficult situation they are facing in Ceuta.

Todo ello, además, sirve para distraer esas críticas de quienes deberían ser sus receptores: nuestros gobernantes, que son -junto con Marruecos- los responsables de esta situación. En vez de pedir cuentas a los políticos, algunos descargan su odio contra nuestros soldados, que sólo cumplen órdenes y que no deciden por sí mismos ni sus misiones ni las condiciones en las que deben asumirlas. Con esos insultos y difamaciones a nuestro Ejército, lo que algunos internautas hiperventilados hacen no es defender a la Patria, sino actuar como tontos útiles de un gobierno incompetente y de quienes están intentando dañar el prestigio de nuestro Ejército desde la extrema izquierda.

Moreover, all of this serves to divert criticism away from those who ought to be its targets—our government leaders —who, alongside Morocco, bear responsibility for this situation. Instead of holding politicians accountable, some vent their hatred against our soldiers, who are merely following orders and do not themselves decide their missions or the conditions under which they must carry them out. By hurling insults and slander at our military, certain overzealous internet users are not defending the nation; rather, they are acting as useful idiots for an incompetent government and for those on the far left seeking to tarnish the military's reputation.

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Photo: Defence Staff. Soldiers from the 30th Mixed Artillery Regiment (RAMIX 30) alongside one of the unit's Iturri VMTT Landtrek vehicles during a patrol in Ceuta.