Morocco emerges as key player in cross-border security networks

RABAT –

Morocco processed nearly 8,000 international security files and information requests this year, with Spain emerging as the top beneficiary, highlighting Rabat’s growing centrality in cross-border security networks, according to Morocco’s General Directorate for National Security (DGSN) 2025 annual report.

Security cooperation with Spain accounted for 37 percent of all cases, followed by France at 28 percent, Germany at 11 percent and the United States at 10 percent, alongside other international partners. The data reflects the work of Morocco’s International Security Cooperation Division, which manages thousands of requests from foreign counterparts, both bilaterally and multilaterally.

The report breaks down the nature of the files handled: 36 percent involved information requests, 20 percent concerned combating illegal migration, and 7 percent related to drug trafficking.

Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska previously described cooperation with Morocco as “very close” in areas including counterterrorism, irregular migration, drug trafficking and cross-border crime, calling it a “model” of Europe-Africa collaboration. He described Morocco as a “strategic and trusted partner,” noting that the partnership contributes effectively to security and stability on both sides of the Mediterranean.

Joint operations between Moroccan and Spanish authorities have targeted drug trafficking networks and irregular migration, alongside ongoing intelligence sharing. Security coordination centres in Tangier and Algeciras facilitate continuous collaboration, including joint patrols and sweeps.

In a recent joint operation, Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations and Spain’s General Intelligence Commissariat dismantled ISIS-linked cells in the Sahel, reflecting the sustained coordination between Rabat and Madrid in countering terrorist threats.

Morocco has repeatedly demonstrated strong capabilities in tackling international crime, terrorism and organised crime. Spain has leveraged Moroccan expertise to expand bilateral cooperation under a 2019 agreement covering 18 criminal domains, including terrorism, drug trafficking, crimes endangering human life and unlawful detention or abduction.

Operationally, Morocco’s Interpol National Central Bureau in Rabat handled 7,103 information requests in 2025 and facilitated cooperation on 2,307 international car-theft cases, seizing 395 vehicles listed in Interpol databases.

On the judicial side, Morocco executed 120 international legal requests and issued 127 international arrest warrants, leading to the detention of 144 individuals wanted by Moroccan authorities abroad.

A high-profile success in intelligence collaboration came in November when Moroccan and Spanish authorities arrested Wilmer Chavarria, alias “Pipo,” the leader of Los Lobos, one of Latin America and Europe’s most dangerous criminal networks. Chavarria was captured in Malaga shortly after arriving from Morocco, ending years of evasion.

The report underscores Morocco’s emergence as a pivotal hub in international security, balancing counterterrorism, crime prevention and cross-border intelligence sharing to safeguard regional and global stability.