The PSOE’s Moroccan partner describes Ceuta and Melilla as 'occupied Moroccan cities'

Pedro Sánchez and his party, the PSOE, have been displaying a complacent and servile attitude toward Morocco regarding Ceuta.

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The USFP, the PSOE’s Moroccan partner in three international organizations

Currently, Sánchez is the Secretary-General of the Socialist International (SI), an organization that brings together socialist parties from dozens of countries. The SI’s representative in Morocco is the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), a party founded on January 12, 1975, which is also a member of the Progressive Alliance and an observer member of the Party of European Socialists (PES).

The Spanish representative in those three organizations is the PSOE, meaning that this party and the USFP are partners through three different channels. In December 2024, under the presidency of Sánchez, the Socialist International (SI) held its second council meeting in Rabat, with the USFP serving as the host. Driss Lachgar, president of the USFP, delivered the opening address at that council meeting.

An official USFP newspaper describes Ceuta and Melilla as 'occupied Moroccan cities'

The USFP has two official newspapers: Al Ittihad Al Ichtiraki (in Arabic) and Libération (in French). The link between this socialist party and these newspapers is clear: both are featured on the homepage of the USFP website. The organization uses both newspapers to communicate its views on various issues. On Tuesday, October 13, Al Ittihad Al Ichtiraki published a piece regarding the visit of the King and Queen of Spain to Ceuta and Melilla. Signed "Socialist Union," the text states the following (the bold and underlined formatting does not appear in the original text):

"King Felipe VI of Spain arrived today in the occupied Moroccan city of Ceuta—his first visit since his accession to the throne, and the first by a Spanish monarch since 2007—a visit that has triggered a diplomatic crisis between Rabat and Madrid.

Felipe VI was accompanied by his wife, Queen Letizia, and, as previously announced, he is expected to travel today to the occupied Moroccan city of Melilla.

The Spanish King’s visit to these two occupied Moroccan cities has been accompanied by a Spanish media campaign that seeks to mislead international public opinion with messages implying a supposed 'sovereignty' over parts of Moroccan territory."

Ceuta and Melilla have been Spanish for centuries

These statements are very serious: a Moroccan partner of the party to which the Prime Minister of Spain belongs describes two Spanish cities as "occupied Moroccan cities" and considers them part of "Moroccan territory," thereby questioning Spanish sovereignty over both. It should be recalled that Ceuta and Melilla have been part of Spain for centuries and have never belonged to the Kingdom of Morocco—a country that has been independent only since 1956. This is as absurd as Spain laying claim to Rabat or Casablanca—a possibility we might have to consider if the Moroccan regime continues to claim territories that do not belong to it and never have.

Will the PSOE reproach its Moroccan partners for that statement?

One might wonder whether the PSOE’s association with the USFP within three international organizations explains Sánchez’s scandalous attitude toward Morocco—a country he even thanked for its "cooperation" right in the midst of a Moroccan-orchestrated migrant invasion of Ceuta, at a time when the Royal Moroccan Navy was violating Spanish waters off that city. Furthermore, it is also logical to ask: will the PSOE reproach its Moroccan partners for referring to two Spanish cities as "occupied Moroccan cities"?