Marlaska honours Moroccan intelligence chief implicated in Ceuta migration crisis
Interior Minister Grande-Marlaska awarded the Grand Cross of the Civil Guard Merit to Abdellatif Hammouchi in October 2025. Days later, hackers leaked data on 70,000 alleged Moroccan officers.
Hammouchi's decoration fuels controversy following Jabaroot cyberattack
According to ABC, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska presented on 11 October 2025 the Grand Cross of the Civil Guard Merit to Abdellatif Hammouchi, Director General of Territorial Surveillance and head of the Moroccan Police. The distinction, one of the highest decorations of the Spanish Armed Institute, was justified by the "extraordinary" bilateral collaboration on terrorism and organised crime.
Hammouchi is identified by various sectors as responsible for espionage using Pegasus software. The recognition generated immediate discontent within the State Security Forces and Bodies. The police association Jupol described the award as "unacceptable" and recalled that as early as 2014 the same commander had received the Police Merit Honour Cross with Red Distinction from the Spanish Executive.
The Jabaroot group leaks data on 70,000 alleged agents
On Monday, the hacker collective Jabaroot—whose name means "Power" in Arabic and which Rabat links to Algeria—published on Telegram a massive database with the identity, dates of birth and registration numbers of 70,000 presumed members of the intelligence services of the Alaouite kingdom. Among the records is a file on Hammouchi himself.
Days before the leak, the group directed threatening messages to the top of Moroccan security. "Spanish authorities will discover the farce of your failed agents," the hackers warned, speaking expressly to the police chief.
Jabaroot accuses Hammouchi's unit of carrying out on European soil "the dirtiest intelligence tasks," citing espionage operations, telephone tapping and bribes to politicians and businessmen. Furthermore, they claim that agents under his command coordinated on the ground the logistics of the massive migration flow towards Ceuta from the town of Fnideq, also known as Castillejos.
Royal adviser Fouad Ali el Himma identified as ideologue
The cyberattack reveals, according to the hackers, a manoeuvre of designation within the power structure in Rabat. Whilst accusations place Hammouchi as executor of destabilisation operations at the border, Jabaroot attributes the conception of the plan to Fouad Ali el Himma, a trusted adviser to King Mohamed VI.
According to the leaked messages, the Palace's circle would have devised the migration collapse to "put Spain in a difficult situation," allegedly with the approval of powers such as the United States and Israel. The authors of the leak exempt the Moroccan monarch himself from any direct knowledge of the plot and announce further revelations, including written orders directed at police commanders.
It should be noted that the CNI alerted the Interior Ministry the day before 180,000 immigrants assaulted Ceuta, according to previous reports.
Interior maintains support for Hammouchi despite controversy
Despite the seriousness of the information released and the evident security failure in the apparatus that Hammouchi directs, the Interior Ministry has not backtracked on its position. The department insists on supporting the work of a commander who finds himself embroiled in controversy once again.
He is not the only member of the Moroccan Executive distinguished by Spain. Morocco's Interior Minister, Abdelouafi Laftit, holds the Grand Cross of Aeronautical Merit, granted for his institutional collaboration with the Spanish State.
Source: ABC