How the enduring US-Morocco alliance shapes the Ceuta migration crisis
From a historic 18th-century friendship treaty to a 1,000-kilometer highway named after a US president, the ties between Morocco and the United States have always stood apart. This week, King Mohammed VI renamed a major desert road in honor of former US President Donald Trump to express gratitude for American support in recognizing Rabat’s sovereignty over Western Sahara—a disputed territory.
This gesture came shortly after more than 70,000 people surged from Morocco into Ceuta, an Spanish enclave on the African coast. The event left at least 140 dead on both sides of the border and triggered a severe migration crisis.
The United States’ response to the crisis underscored the depth of its alliance with the Moroccan kingdom. Officials did not question Morocco—the source of the human wave—despite the scale of the emergency.
Trump described the events as a “catastrophe” comparable to “the invasion of a country.” The US State Department criticized Spain’s immigration policies under Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, while the White House condemned what it called “far-left globalist policies.”
While Washington’s stance surprised few, it unsettled Spain—a NATO member hosting American forces at bases in Rota and Morón. Morocco, though not part of the Atlantic Alliance, remains one of America’s top military and intelligence partners in North Africa.
From early diplomacy to modern strategic ties
Despite vast geographical and cultural differences, relations between Morocco and the United States began on solid ground.
In 1776, as the United States declared independence from Britain, Morocco was a sovereign sultanate under the Alaouite dynasty—still in power today. Less than two years later, Sultan Mohammed III granted American ships free access to Moroccan ports. Rabat celebrates this as the first international recognition of the fledgling American nation.
The US State Department traces this recognition to June 23, 1786, when the two nations signed the Treaty of Peace and Friendship in Marrakech. For the young US republic, this was more than diplomacy. With the British navy no longer protecting its merchant fleet, American ships faced capture by corsairs from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Tripoli—and their crews held for ransom.
The treaty ensured safe passage for American vessels in Moroccan waters, opened commercial opportunities, and bolstered the new nation’s global standing.
“Morocco’s strategic location at the Mediterranean’s entrance, connecting Europe, Africa, and the Islamic world, proved invaluable to America as it sought global recognition and trade expansion,” said Timothy W. Kneeland, history and political science professor at Nazareth University in New York.
The treaty was renewed in 1836 and remains in force today.
“Moroccans will tell you the 1786 treaty is the oldest still-active agreement in US history,” noted Sarah Yerkes, associate fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and expert on US foreign policy in North Africa and the Middle East.
The treaty’s continuity did not always mean close relations. When Morocco was divided in 1912 between French and Spanish spheres, Washington initially hesitated to recognize the new colonial order before doing so in 1917. After Morocco regained independence in March 1956, the United States promptly recognized the new state and opened its embassy in Rabat just three months later.
Security, trade, and Western Sahara
Security cooperation predates Moroccan independence. In 1950, while under French protection, Morocco allowed America and France to jointly develop several air bases.
Decades later, in November 1975, as Spain’s Franco lay dying, King Hassan II organized the Green March, mobilizing 350,000 civilians to pressure Madrid into ceding control of Western Sahara—situated west of the Canary Islands. Spain eventually transferred administrative control to Morocco and Mauritania.
Officially, Washington claimed neutrality and promoted a negotiated solution. But declassified diplomatic records reveal a different stance.
Henry Kissinger, then US Secretary of State, told Hassan II in 1974 that he would act similarly in his position. By January 1976, he admitted the United States had placed “no major obstacles” in Morocco’s path in Western Sahara. Later that year, a diplomatic report described the US position as “essentially pro-Moroccan.”
According to Yerkes, “security ties truly deepened after the 9/11 attacks.”
“Geopolitically, Morocco is a key US ally in the fight against international terrorism,” said Kneeland.
In 2004, the Bush administration designated Morocco as a “major non-NATO ally,” easing access to advanced weaponry and military cooperation. Morocco also hosts African Lion, the US Africa Command’s largest annual exercise.
The two nations jointly train special forces and co-chair the Africa group of the international coalition against the so-called Islamic State. They also coordinate counterterrorism aid across the continent. Between 2021 and 2025, America supplied 60% of Morocco’s major arms imports—far ahead of Israel (24%) and France (10%), according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Economically, the 2006 US-Morocco Free Trade Agreement was the first the United States signed with an African nation. By 2025, bilateral trade reached $7.4 billion—nearly eight times the $927 million recorded in 2005 before the agreement. While modest for the US economy, where Morocco ranks 46th among export markets, the deal significantly boosted US trade surplus.
Diplomatically, Morocco achieved a major victory in 2020 when Donald Trump, in the final months of his first term, recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara as part of a normalization deal with Israel.
Washington still upholds this position, supporting Rabat’s autonomy plan as the only viable path to resolving the conflict.
“Morocco stands out as the most successful of the Abraham Accords. Its normalization with Israel has endured despite the Gaza war and remains firmly established,” said Yerkes.
The US-Morocco-Spain triangle under strain
The Ceuta crisis has exposed tensions within the strategic triangle linking Washington, Rabat, and Madrid.
The incident highlighted the strength of the US-Morocco partnership at a time when doubts grow over Spain’s relations with both its African neighbor and its North American ally within NATO.
Madrid is a key military partner of Washington and depends on Morocco for managing its North African border. But both alliances are now under pressure.
While Spain’s government attributed the mass influx to human trafficking networks and social media, and even thanked Morocco for cooperation, Spanish experts, politicians, and media accused Rabat of instigating—or at least enabling—the crisis.
For its part, the Trump administration sharply criticized Spain over NATO spending caps and its refusal to allow US operations from bases in Rota and Morón against Iran. These divisions became evident during the Ceuta emergency.
Washington did not explicitly endorse Morocco’s account of the events, nor did it demand explanations from Rabat or echo accusations of deliberate border laxity. Instead, Trump framed the crisis as a consequence of Spain’s immigration policies, directly challenging Prime Minister Sánchez’s government.
“I don’t believe Washington views the events in Ceuta as a Moroccan initiative. The White House was far more critical of Spain and what it called poor border management, which it saw as the root cause of the crisis,” Yerkes observed.
The US response reaffirmed the resilience of its alliance with Rabat, even as tensions with Madrid—another NATO ally—mounted.
Experts note that Morocco could become an even more valuable partner for America in security and logistics, especially after Spain blocked US use of its bases and airspace for potential strikes on Iran.
On Throne Day—the national holiday marking Mohammed VI’s accession on July 30, 1999—Trump sent a message to the king that underscored the alliance’s direction.
“This year, we celebrate 250 years of American history and unshakable friendship with Morocco, a bond built on mutual trust and respect,” he said.
After reiterating US recognition of Western Sahara as Moroccan territory—clearly aimed at its partner—Trump expressed hope that cooperation across all sectors would continue “for the next 250 years.”
