{"id":39639,"date":"2025-12-25T11:42:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T10:42:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/?p=39639"},"modified":"2025-12-25T11:42:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T10:42:26","slug":"spanish-general-moroccan-expansionism-threatens-european-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/?p=39639","title":{"rendered":"Spanish General: Moroccan Expansionism Threatens European Security"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Madrid, December 25, 2025<\/strong> \u2013 A former Director of Spain&#8217;s National Security Department has issued a stark warning regarding Morocco&#8217;s growing influence and its potential impact on European security.<\/p>\n<p>General Miguel \u00c1ngel Ballesteros, who served as Director from 2019 to 2023, broke a year-long silence in a recent interview, offering a candid assessment of the deteriorating security landscape in Europe and Spain&#8217;s increasing vulnerability. He specifically highlighted Morocco&#8217;s expanding role as a strategically concerning development.<\/p>\n<p>Ballesteros argued that Spain is now &#8220;less secure than before the war in Ukraine,&#8221; citing its geographical location, the importance of the Mediterranean Sea, and the Strait of Gibraltar as key factors. He emphasized that the gradual decline of the American security umbrella necessitates a re-evaluation of European, and particularly Spanish, defense capabilities.<\/p>\n<p>The General issued a particularly pointed warning about Morocco&#8217;s ambitions. <em>&#8220;We must not forget that Morocco has very serious claims regarding Spanish territories,&#8221;<\/em> he stated, referencing Rabat&#8217;s alliances with the United States and Israel, as well as its increasing technological and military capabilities. <\/p>\n<p>While acknowledging the necessity of cooperation with Morocco in areas such as counter-terrorism and illegal immigration, Ballesteros cautioned against blind or unlimited collaboration. He stressed that Spain must clearly define <em>&#8220;what is acceptable and what is not,&#8221;<\/em> particularly with regard to its territorial sovereignty.<\/p>\n<p>Ballesteros&#8217;s statements suggest a shift in perspective, portraying Morocco not merely as a strategic partner, but as a regional player with explicit ambitions. This raises questions about how Spain, and Europe as a whole, will address Morocco&#8217;s persistent desires, especially given the fragility of European defense and the reliance of some nations on American protection. The General&#8217;s warning arrives amidst significant security shifts, underscoring the growing need to reassess defense capabilities and prioritize strategic independence.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/?cat=1\">More Algeria articles on DZWatch<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\">DZWatch &#8211; Your News Portal<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Madrid, December 25, 2025 \u2013 A former Director of Spain&#8217;s National Security Department has issued a stark warning regarding Morocco&#8217;s growing influence and its potential impact on European security.<br \/>\nGeneral Miguel \u00c1ngel Ballesteros, who served as Director from 2019 to 2023,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","iawp_total_views":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-algeria"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39639"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39641,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39639\/revisions\/39641"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/39640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}