Ceuta: Thousands of unaccompanied minors on the streets as Spain clears the last camp before royal visit

Spanish police, supported by military personnel, evacuated the El Guano camp—the last major migrant camp in the enclave of Ceuta—on Sunday, October 11, 2026, two days before the visit of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, reports Africanews. More than 350 officers were deployed to the esplanade where hundreds of people were living in makeshift shelters; migrants were taken by bus to registration centers, while others fled toward nearby hills to escape the roundup.

Thirteen-year-old children among adult men

Behind the police operation lies a question that Spanish authorities have failed to resolve since the summer: the fate of minors who arrived alone. There are thousands of them, according to the Associated Press, which notes that the authorities themselves do not know how many are sleeping outside. The agency describes children as young as thirteen sleeping and showering among adult men in a beach camp, others hiding in the alleys of working-class neighborhoods, some visibly under the influence of drugs.

In early October, hundreds of teenagers gathered in front of a church in Ceuta in the hope of obtaining a place in a shelter or passage to the mainland. Members of a neighborhood association led them to a football field where police were waiting; many were back in the camps a few hours later. "Our streets are littered with children," summarizes Ahmed Enfed-Dal, president of a neighborhood association, as quoted by the Associated Press.

Figures that no one can confirm

The scale of the July 2026 crisis remains disputed. Africanews mentions more than 70,000 entries from Morocco, while the Associated Press reports about 80,000 people having crossed the border by swimming or climbing a breakwater. About 140 people died in the attempt, making it, according to the American agency, the deadliest episode in the history of this border. The Spanish Interior Ministry initially claimed that all but 2,000 had returned to Morocco, before revising that figure in September to 10,000; the mayor of Ceuta, Juan Vivas, speaks of 15,000 people remaining on site.

Spanish law guarantees unaccompanied minors housing, care, and schooling. Madrid has asked Ceuta to examine each case of those under 18 individually and has released more than 90 million euros; the city responds that it lacks the resources. Youth Minister Sira Rego told Cadena Ser that most of these young people want to stay in Spain and that they will remain there. The mayor, for his part, is asking the state to find a way to send them back to Morocco. Save the Children, through Jennifer Zuppiroli, is calling first for an official registry of all persons declaring themselves to be minors.

Investigations into mistreatment

The Spanish prosecutor's office is investigating reports of torture and mistreatment of migrants, including minors, the Associated Press indicates. In September 2026, Amnesty International published a report denouncing cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment attributed to Spanish soldiers, dangerous conditions for children, and allegations of sexual abuse against young girls. On August 3, a twelve-year-old boy being escorted to the border was only stopped a few meters away after residents and journalists reported that he was a minor.

Member of the European Parliament Estrella Galán, from The Left group, who visited the site, believes that children who should be under protection and guardianship are living in situations of "grave distress." The Spanish government's representative in Ceuta resigned after the crisis.

The royal couple is scheduled to visit Melilla on October 14, 2026. This will be the first visit by a Spanish monarch to these two territories since 2007: a display of Spanish sovereignty at the gates of Africa, while children wait, just a few streets away, for a state to remember that it is responsible for them.