Rabat: Faced with constant and growing migratory pressure in an unstable regional environment fraught with multiple threats, the Kingdom of Morocco has continued its tireless efforts to combat irregular emigration. As a result, a total of 73,640 attempts were thwarted in 2025, demonstrating the resilience of the border and coastal surveillance systems.

According to Agence Marocaine De Presse, during the same year, human trafficking networks showed no sign of abating, with more than 300 networks dismantled. These networks have been constantly refining their tactics and pooling their criminal services and activities. As part of these operations, 13,595 migrants were rescued at sea and received assistance, medical care, shelter, and guidance, highlighting Morocco’s humane approach to border management.

Similarly, 4,372 irregular migrants were assisted in voluntarily returning to their countries of origin, ensuring respect for their rights and dignity and coordinating with their diplomatic missions. These figures reflect a significant strategic shift and underscore the efficiency of Morocco’s strategy to combat migrant smuggling networks. The notable decline in interceptions attests to a gradual reduction in irregular migration flows, indicating a drying up of the migration route transiting through Morocco.

However, this development does not signify a reduction in migratory pressure at the regional level, as this pressure is being reshaped, with migration flows shifting toward other points of departure, particularly in West Africa and certain countries in the southern Mediterranean. Thus, the dynamics observed call for a comprehensive and coordinated understanding of the phenomenon.

Thanks to these efforts, the Kingdom remains committed to a humanistic approach to migration management. This is evidenced by the significant number of voluntary returns organized under safe, orderly conditions that respect human dignity, illustrating the balance between firmness and responsibility.

Furthermore, security cooperation between Morocco and Spain in the fight against terrorism has become a model to be emulated, based on the two countries’ shared commitment to countering violent extremism. A total of 41 joint operations have been carried out since 2014 by the two countries, leading to the arrest of 174 individuals linked to terrorism, with a large number (112) apprehended on Spanish territory.

In this context, Spain has consistently praised the effectiveness of the General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance (DGST) in its sustained efforts to curb the threat posed by terrorist networks linked to international militant groups and the recruitment networks of “jihadists.”