El comisario de Información declara que un confidente le habría informado sobre la entrada de Brahim Ghali

The case of Brahim Ghali's entry into Spain continues. In recent statements made by the Commissioner General of the National Police, Eugenio Pereiro Blanco, the commissioner has assured that an anonymous source had informed him of his entry into Spain moments before Ghali landed at the Zaragoza Air Base.

Pereiro thus denies having learned of Ghali's entry through an official source. Even so, this information had already been known by the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya, and her chief of staff. Both were reportedly being investigated in the case even before Ghali arrived in Spain, according to their statements during interrogations.

However, Pereiro has assured that once he knew about "the tip-off", he informed the deputy director of operations (DAO), that is to say, his hierarchical superior. In this statement, the commissioner affirmed that, as soon as it became known, a police operation was set up and the ambulance that was transporting Brahim Ghali to the San Pedro Hospital in Logroño for a COVID-19 condition was followed.

He also indicates that similar monitoring was carried out when the Polisario Front leader left the country on a flight that took off from Pamplona bound for Algeria.

Pereiro's declarations were made in the context of a witness statement and were made before the head of the 7th Magistrate's Court of Zaragoza, Rafael Lasala, who is in charge of investigating Ghali's case. His appearance was made at the request of the private accusation made by Antonio Urdiales, who had asked to be questioned in order to clarify the actions of the National Police once Ghali had landed in Spain.
 

According to Europa Press sources, the prosecution will ask the examining magistrate to summon the DAO of the National Police to complete Pereiro's statements.

Brahim Ghali's entry into Spain last April brought about a diplomatic crisis between Morocco and Spain. After it became public knowledge that the Polisario Front leader had travelled to Spain for medical treatment, the Alaouite kingdom put diplomatic relations in check after not having been consulted beforehand about his entry. In addition, Morocco considered that Spain had "betrayed" him by allowing him to enter in secret and with false documents. 

The Polisario Front leader, accused of having committed crimes against humanity, was admitted to the Riojan hospital for almost three months. His entry put the diplomatic neighbourhood between Spain and Morocco at risk and, in the light of what happened, the Alawi kingdom declared that the real cause of the crisis had to do with Spain's position on Western Sahara. 
 

In turn, the diplomatic rift brought with it a migration crisis. Last May, 9,000 migrants from Morocco managed to reach Ceuta in the face of weak Moroccan police action, provoking different reactions among Spanish ministers. 

Following Ghali's departure from Spain and Arancha González Laya's departure from the government, Morocco saw this gesture as an act of goodwill on Spain's part for having tried to promote diplomacy with its southern neighbour. Today, Morocco and Spain are once again building bridges and strengthening diplomatic ties, with special emphasis on anti-terrorism and trade cooperation.