First Deputy Prime Minister Carlos Cuerpo announced the takeover Monday during a visit to the city, framing it as a response to a request from local leaders overwhelmed since thousands of migrants forced their way across the border on July 30 and 31.
"We are aware that our citizens living here are going through a difficult period", Cuerpo told reporters, adding that the goal was to rebuild "trust and a sense of security" among residents.
Officials said Madrid views the crisis as a matter of national security, prompting the creation of a single command structure that will be headed by Angel Victor Torres, the minister of territorial policy.
The takeover comes after roughly 80,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta in late July, exploiting lax enforcement by Moroccan border patrols. Spanish authorities pushed more than 70,000 back into Morocco in the days that followed, but thousands remain, sleeping in makeshift camps on streets, a beach and even a cemetery.
The crossing has also proven deadly. Caminando Fronteras, a migrant rights group, estimates at least 145 people died during the crush at the border, and 60 unidentified migrants have been buried in the exclave since Friday.
With public health concerns mounting, Spain's Health Ministry struck a deal Monday with the country's regional governments to ship 45,000 vaccine doses to Ceuta, targeting diseases including measles, diphtheria, polio and chickenpox, as one of the new administration's first moves.
Earlier this month, Morocco laid claim to Ceuta as well as Melilla, the second of the Spanish North African enclaves. Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi told Moroccan broadcaster 2M that Rabat holds "historical and geographical right" to the two cities, adding he hoped for "the possibility of dialogue" with Madrid over their status.
Spain rejected the claim outright. In a diplomatic response relayed late Friday, its Foreign Ministry insisted Ceuta and Melilla "are Spanish cities" and "an integral part of Spain".
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Source: PAP, Polish Radio