The Spanish central government’s representative in Ceuta announced his surprise resignation Monday, citing an alleged “unfair pressure” campaign against him from angry locals and their “hurtful words” as the mass migrant invasion of the exclave reaches its second month.
In accordance with Spanish governance, government delegations serve as representatives and supervisors of the central administration at each of Spain’s autonomous communities, exercising functions and matters pertaining to the central state at a local level.
For the past seven months — and up until Monday — Miguel Ángel Pérez Triano, a Ceuta-born Spaniard, served as the socialist central government’s Delegate to Ceuta, a city that is hours away from marking the second month since tens of thousands of illegal migrants swarmed from Morocco and invaded the city.
Pérez Triano, and several other government officials, have been fiercely criticized by Ceuta’s fed-up residents, who have repeatedly demanded urgent solutions to the ongoing deterioration of their livelihoods caused by the late July migrant invasion.
The situation at the city remains far from resolved two months later, with thousands of migrants still believed to dwell across its streets or sheltered at “temporary” centers set up by the central government.
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The government official announced his resignation in a statement to reporters on Monday. Pérez Triano prefaced by affirming the past days of his work took place under a “very hostile environment,” which has “taken a huge toll on me personally and on my family.”
“After discussing it with my family, I have decided to step aside and let someone else continue the work that still lies ahead of us,” he said.
Pérez Triano denounced having had to endure what he described as “unfair pressure, insults, and a smear campaign of rumors and lies.” He cried he finds it “curious” how “people shamelessly confuse and manipulate the facts when, as a government delegate, I have no authority over most of the issues for which I am being blamed.”
“I have endured a constant harassment campaign, including insults, threats, and even a funeral wreath left at the door of the government delegation office,” he said. “That, too, is violence.”
As Pérez Triano stated, Ceuta residents left a funeral wreath outside the local Government Delegation offices earlier this month — adorned with a band that read, “Rest in Peace. For your Political Death.” The wreath was one of the many forms of peaceful protests that the city’s neighbors have partaken in to demand solutions to the invasion from the central government.
The Spanish news agency EFE reports that Pérez Triano not just announced his resignation as head of the Government Delegation to Ceuta on Monday — he also tendered his resignation from all other political-related positions he occupies, including his position as secretary general of the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) in Ceuta.
EFE pointed out that his resignation comes days after he found himself embroiled in an controversy that arose from an alleged conversation between Pérez Triano and his former chief of staff, Gonzalo Sanz, regarding a message from Spanish intelligence officials warning about the invasion of Ceuta before it occurred.
Pérez Triano reportedly testified earlier this month that he was unaware of this message, which led to the resignation of Gonzalo Sanz, who instead affirmed that he had duly forwarded it to the government delegate.
According to El Faro de Ceuta, Peréz Triano took no questions from reporters after announcing his resignation. The Spanish socialist central government is yet to announce who will be its new delegate to Ceuta at press time.
The “response” to the ongoing crisis offered by the central government led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been met with widespread criticism and massive peaceful protests over the past weeks — not just in Ceuta, but across mainland Spanish cities, with thousands of Spaniards offering their support and solidarity to the invaded city even during soccer matches.
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