Strengthening bonds: how the US-Morocco alliance shapes north African security and migration challenges

From a two-century-old friendship treaty to Trump’s Sahara highway, the partnership between Washington and Rabat has never been ordinary.

This week, Morocco’s monarch, Mohammed VI, renamed a 1,000-kilometer highway slicing through the Western Sahara in honor of the former US president—a gesture widely seen as gratitude for Washington’s recognition of Rabat’s sovereignty over the disputed territory.

The timing could not have been more sensitive. Just days earlier, more than 70,000 people surged from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, leaving at least 140 dead on both sides of the border and triggering one of Europe’s sharpest migration crises in recent memory.

The United States’ response to the Ceuta events laid bare the depth of its ties with the Alaouite kingdom. While Washington labeled the influx a “catastrophe” akin to an “invasion,” it reserved its harshest criticism for Madrid’s migration policies and what it called “extreme left-wing globalist agendas.” No objections were raised against Morocco, despite the human wave originating from its territory.

The reaction unsettled Spain, a fellow NATO member hosting American forces at Rota and Morón bases. Though Morocco is not part of the Atlantic Alliance, it ranks among Washington’s top military and intelligence partners in North Africa. The crisis has exposed strains in a delicate triangle: the US, Morocco, and Spain.

Early foundations of a strategic friendship

Despite vast geographical and cultural distances, the bond between the United States and Morocco took root remarkably early. In 1776, as the former declared independence from Britain, the latter remained an independent sultanate under the Alaouite dynasty—still ruling today.

By mid-1777, Sultan Mohammed III had already opened Moroccan ports to American ships, a move Rabat cites as the first international recognition of the new republic. Official US records, however, point to June 23, 1786, when the two nations signed the Treaty of Peace and Friendship in Marrakech.

For the fledgling American republic, the pact was more than symbolic. With the British navy no longer protecting its vessels, US ships faced constant threats from corsairs in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Tripoli. The agreement guaranteed safe passage, access to Moroccan ports, and commercial openings, while bolstering America’s standing on the world stage.

“Morocco’s geographic position at the Mediterranean’s gateway, its ties to Europe, Africa, and the Islamic world, gave the US a strategic foothold in its quest for global recognition and trade expansion,” explains Timothy W. Kneeland, professor of history and political science at Nazareth University in New York.

The treaty, renegotiated in 1836, remains in force to this day. “As Moroccans proudly note, the 1786 agreement stands as America’s oldest enduring treaty,” says Sarah Yerkes, associate fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and expert on US foreign policy in the Middle East and North Africa.

After Morocco’s 1912 division into French and Spanish protectorates, the US hesitated to recognize the new colonial order, finally doing so in 1917. Upon Morocco’s independence in March 1956, Washington swiftly recognized the new state and opened its embassy in Rabat within three months.

Security, trade, and Western Sahara

Security cooperation predates Moroccan independence. In 1950, while still under French control, the US secured agreements to use and expand several air bases in the country.

By 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—then a Spanish colony west of the Canary Islands. Spain eventually transferred administration to Morocco and Mauritania, though Washington maintained a public posture of neutrality while privately supporting Rabat’s position.

Declassified documents reveal that Henry Kissinger told Hassan II in 1974 that, were he in Morocco’s place, he would act similarly. By January 1976, US officials acknowledged they had erected “no major obstacles” to Morocco’s Sahara ambitions, according to the State Department’s Office of the Historian.

The bilateral security relationship solidified after the September 11, 2001 attacks. “Geopolitically, Morocco is a steadfast US partner in combating international terrorism,” notes Professor Kneeland. In 2004, the George W. Bush administration designated Morocco as a Major Non-NATO Ally, easing access to advanced weaponry and military cooperation.

The kingdom hosts African Lion, the US Africa Command’s largest annual exercise. Joint special forces training and co-leadership of the Africa group within the global coalition against ISIS further cement the alliance. Between 2021 and 2025, the US accounted for 60% of Morocco’s major arms imports—followed by Israel (24%) and France (10%), according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

On the economic front, the 2006 US-Morocco Free Trade Agreement—the first of its kind between Washington and an African nation—eliminated numerous trade barriers. By 2025, bilateral merchandise trade reached $7.4 billion, nearly eight times the $927 million recorded in 2005 before the pact took effect. While modest on the US scale—ranking Morocco as its 46th largest export market—the agreement has generated significant gains for both sides.

Diplomatically, Morocco achieved a major victory in 2020 when, late in Donald Trump’s first term, Washington formally recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara as part of the normalization accords between Rabat and Israel. The US continues to uphold this stance, viewing Rabat’s autonomy proposal as the only viable basis for resolving the conflict. “Morocco is the most successful member of the Abraham Accords. Normalization with Israel has endured the Gaza conflict and is now firmly established,” Yerkes observes.

The US-Morocco-Spain triangle

The Ceuta crisis has spotlighted tensions within this geopolitical triangle. Spain serves as a critical US military ally and simultaneously relies on Morocco to manage its North African borders. Yet both alliances are now under strain.

Madrid blamed human trafficking networks and social media for the Ceuta surge, even thanking Rabat for cooperation. However, Spanish experts, officials, and media outlets have accused Morocco of orchestrating—or at least enabling—the episode. Meanwhile, the Trump administration criticized Spain for opposing NATO spending ceilings and vetoing the use of Rota and Morón bases for operations against Iran. These divisions surfaced vividly during the Ceuta events.

Washington stopped short of endorsing Morocco’s version of events. It neither demanded explanations from Rabat nor echoed accusations of deliberate border laxity. Instead, Trump framed the crisis as a consequence of Spanish immigration policies, directly challenging Pedro Sánchez’s government.

“I don’t believe Washington views the Ceuta events as a Moroccan initiative. The White House was far more critical of Spain and what it sees as mismanagement of the border that sparked this crisis,” interprets Yerkes.

The US response underscores the resilience of its alliance with Morocco, contrasting sharply with the strains in its NATO partnership with Spain. Analysts suggest Morocco could become an even more valuable US partner for security and logistics, especially after Spain blocked the use of its bases and airspace for potential strikes on Iran.

During Morocco’s Throne Day celebrations marking Mohammed VI’s accession on July 30, 1999, Trump sent a message to the monarch that clarified alliance priorities: “This year, we celebrate 250 years of American history and unshakable friendship with Morocco—a bond forged on trust and mutual respect.” He reiterated US recognition of Western Sahara as Moroccan territory and expressed hope that cooperation across all sectors would continue “for the next 250 years.”