Critics of the government's handling of the Ceuta crisis argue that the scale of the tragedy reveals a profound lack of preparedness and a failure of intelligence. Opposition voices have questioned how tens of thousands of people could breach the border without prior detection, suggesting that the government was caught completely off guard by a predictable surge. They argue that the reliance on emergency measures, such as the hasty conversion of a military hospital into a morgue, is a symptom of a reactive policy that lacks a long-term strategy for border security and regional diplomacy.
There is also significant concern regarding the transparency of the government's actions and the true death toll. Some organizations, including the Unified Association of Civil Guards, have suggested that the number of fatalities may be higher than the official count, raising questions about the accuracy of the information provided to the public. Critics argue that the government's attempt to minimize the crisis or frame it solely as a humanitarian issue ignores the underlying security and foreign policy failures that allowed the situation to escalate in the first place. They contend that the government's gratitude toward Morocco for facilitating returns is contradictory, given that the same authorities are accused of allowing the breach to occur.
Furthermore, the impact on the local population of Ceuta has been severe, with residents feeling abandoned during the days of chaos. Critics argue that the government failed to protect the city's social and economic life, leaving businesses closed and citizens in a state of fear. They call for a more robust and proactive approach to border management that does not rely on the goodwill of neighboring states, warning that without fundamental changes to policy, the risk of future, even more lethal, incidents remains high.