“Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio should right another historical wrong and formally recognize Ceuta and Melilla as occupied Moroccan territory,” he argued. Far from being integral to Spain, Ceuta and Melilla historically carried second-rank status: open-air prisons, military installations, and dens of smuggling rather than cities of civic value. Beyond Ceuta and Melilla, Spain maintains a constellation of occupied outposts: the Chafarinas Islands, Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, and a string of barren rocks it guards with garrisons and gunboats. This was obviously a calculated maneuver to internationalize Spain’s colonial occupation and embed the enclave within the Atlantic alliance as though it were a natural extension of Europe. Morocco has never relented in demanding the restitution of Ceuta, Melilla, and every occupied islet, regarding them as the unfinished reckoning of decolonization.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 14, 2026 08:44 UTC