#Spain #Morocco #Directorate #NationalIntelligenceCenter #GeneralDirectorate_of_Studies_and_Documentation
The CNI dismissed an agent of Moroccan origin over fears he could be recruited by Rabat
The decision, endorsed by the National Court, cites a report that describes the worker’s loyalty to Spain and to the secret service as « uncertain. »
The National Intelligence Center (CNI) dismissed one of its agents of Moroccan origin in the summer of 2023, considering that his loyalty to Spain and to the institution itself « can, at the very least, be assessed as uncertain, » according to what has now come to light through a recent ruling by the National Court that endorsed the agency’s decision to let the worker go. The dismissal came after the CNI’s Personnel Division prepared an internal report on the agent in which it expressed concern that, precisely due to this alleged lack of fidelity, he could be recruited by the intelligence services of his country of origin, with the consequent risk to the Center’s own security.
The report — dated August 22, 2023, and partially reproduced in the recent ruling — states that « the results obtained during the investigation […] are considered relevant for the security of the CNI and the people who work at the Center » and attributes to the then-worker, who had joined the agency five years earlier, a negative attitude in his duties. All agents are periodically subjected to evaluations analyzing « aspects of personality, competence, performance, and professional conduct, » as stipulated in the Center’s staff regulations. « Failure to pass the suitability assessment is grounds for loss of statutory staff status » and therefore dismissal from the institution, the internal regulations continue.
In this case, the report on the then-agent highlighted that « his statements and behaviors reveal that he does not comply with internal regulations, does not fulfill the duty of confidentiality, seeks his own interest, and feels no appreciation or respect for the institution, his bosses, colleagues, or even the CNI member he lives with, » referring to his partner, also an agent of the Spanish secret service. « These circumstances, together with his personal dissatisfaction, his nationality of origin, and the fact that most of his family still resides in Morocco, constitute a serious security risk, » the document continues.
The authors of the report warn that it is precisely « these factors » that could be « detected and used by Moroccan intelligence services. » Eight days after the report was issued, the director of the CNI, Esperanza Casteleiro, informed the agent that he had lost his status as Center staff, deeming him no longer « suitable » to work there.
The now-public CNI decision came two years after, during the diplomatic crisis between Spain and Morocco over the hosting of Polisario Front leader Brahim Gali, the Center had alerted Pedro Sánchez’s government to the maneuvers of the General Directorate of Studies and Documentation (DGED), the foreign intelligence service dependent on the Moroccan armed forces, to recruit collaborators in Spain in various fields. The CNI assured at the time that Rabat was using « considerable resources, including financial ones » for this purpose. Furthermore, in the last 13 years, the CNI has thwarted « for reasons of national security » at least six Moroccan citizens from acquiring Spanish nationality after detecting alleged links of all of them to the North African country’s espionage services.
The dismissal was appealed by the agent, first before the intelligence service itself and, after it rejected his reinstatement, before the courts. In his submissions, he alleged that his departure from the center was the result of alleged discrimination due to his Moroccan origin and not « because of his performance, conduct, and worth. » In this regard, the former agent emphasized that, a few months before his dismissal, he had completed a course to integrate into a CNI mission in Syrian Kurdistan, where he underwent a psychological evaluation and was declared fit, although he ultimately did not join the operation.
The former agent also provided WhatsApp messages that, in his opinion, demonstrated alleged « abusive treatment » towards him, as well as testimony from his partner to the same effect. In addition to reinstatement, he also sought to acquire the status of « permanent » staff of the Center. He had joined as a « temporary » staff member, a situation in which he could remain for a maximum of six years — a term he would have fulfilled if reinstated.
However, the agent’s claims have been rejected on three occasions so far. First, by the director of the CNI herself in November 2023. Second, by the head of the Contentious-Administrative Court No. 10 of the National Court, who in December 2024 also ruled against the former agent’s claims, concluding that the Center’s decision was « in accordance with the law. »
The third judicial setback occurred on March 4 of this year, when the four magistrates of the Fifth Chamber of the Contentious-Administrative Division of the National Court again endorsed the agent’s dismissal. In this ruling, the court highlighted precisely the content of the internal report that questioned his loyalty and concluded that the facts contained in it affect « the security of the National Intelligence Center itself, » thus rejecting the appeal and endorsing the dismissal. The ruling can still be appealed by the former agent before the Supreme Court.
With El País, 02/04/2026
