Lieutenant Colonel of the Civil Guard, Miguel Lobo, testified this Monday before Judge María Tardón to provide revealing data that goes beyond the confrontation he had with a commander of the National Police in Ceuta at the foot of the breakwater, as seen in videos broadcast by FaroTV both on July 30 and a few weeks ago.

The statements made this Monday provide information on two distinct areas. The first concerns what was observed before July 30. The second pertains to what happened that led to the confrontation between the two commanders, as recorded in FaroTV footage.

Lobo revealed to the judge that the night before the massive entry into Ceuta, he saw six Moroccan vessels and that the Moroccan agents were standing idle, while the retired National Police inspector, Lorenzo Juan Fages, went further by stating that they facilitated the passage to the autonomous city.

The chief inspector of the National Police specified, in fact, the attitude of Moroccan agents in facilitating entry into Ceuta, describing uniformed agents and others in plain clothes making gestures to that effect, something that was already noted in his report by the National Center for Information and Borders (CENIF) of the General Commissariat of Immigration.

These are very important data for the investigation regarding the massive entry because they evidence the actions performed by Morocco that day.

The presence of Moroccan vessels was interpreted as having reinforced their presence after weeks of constant swimming entries. There were two interceptors, two patrol boats, and two smaller vessels.

Lobo conveyed this information to the Government Delegation, but it was not given much importance.

Both have pointed to Morocco for its passive and active actions in the entry of immigrants, as the Civil Guard officer stated that the Moroccan military were standing idle and directing people towards the breakwater from the beach, while the police officer indicated that they facilitated the passage to Ceuta, with uniformed and plainclothes individuals making gestures for them to advance.

Regarding the moment of confrontation captured in the video from this media outlet, which has been viewed in the National Court, Lobo stated that he made all operational decisions.

He believed that the door located next to the breakwater should remain open, without any superior officer instructing him to do so. Closing it, as requested by the police, could result in a crush.

This is the version presented by this media outlet despite the interested interpretations from associations that have claimed that the images from FaroTV were published now, almost three months after the invasion, with some ulterior motive, when they were actually broadcast on the same day, July 30.

The significant difference in the time frames is that there is now a judicial investigation questioning whether there was coordination or not, something that holds great informational value, to the extent that even a judge from the National Court has deemed it important, as this media outlet has, refocusing attention on what matters.

Lobo himself stated that the decision made was his own and that he acted this way to prevent the gathered individuals from throwing themselves into the sea.

There were no operational instructions during the crisis, no superior coordinating the two forces as Minister Marlaska seems to have perceived. The lieutenant colonel himself was informing about what was happening, making decisions on the ground.

This is what this newspaper has maintained, that the Interior Ministry did not coordinate anything at any time, despite what Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska has said.

The commander of the CNP indicated that everything occurred in a context of lack of instructions and absence of an extraordinary device in response to what was happening.

The chief inspector of the National Police has assured that he did not receive orders on how to act, neither during the day of the massive entry nor in the days prior, and that he also did not participate in coordination or planning meetings to address a potential influx.

Lobo defended that keeping the door open prevented the crowd from throwing themselves into the sea, but Fages advocated for different instructions.

He approached with his men to try to contain the arrival of people from Morocco. There were no prior directives on how to respond to a situation of that nature.

Morocco is now under scrutiny following the statements of the commanders of the Civil Guard and Police who faced each other on the day of the invasion, as first reported by El Faro de Ceuta.