Exceptional French Honor for Abdelatif Hammouchi

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France has honored Abdelatif Hammouchi, Director General of National Security and Territorial Surveillance in Morocco, by granting him the Gold Honor Medal of the French National Police. This recognition comes amid a growing rapprochement between the two countries following Paris’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over its Sahara and the autonomy proposal as the sole solution to the ongoing conflict.

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The Moroccan security official had previously visited France, where he held discussions with several high-ranking French security officials, including Célia Berton, Director General of Internal Security, and Nicolas Lerner, Director General of External Security. The discussions mainly focused on enhancing efforts against terrorism, organized crime, illegal immigration, and improving security coordination between the two countries and intelligence sharing.

He also met with Frédéric Veau, Director General of the French National Police, and had in-depth discussions on setting up preventive mechanisms for risk assessment and information exchange.

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On the sidelines of the visit, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin awarded Hammouchi the Gold Honor Medal of the National Police, as stated in the decision published in the French Official Gazette.

The French decision notes that the Honor Medal is awarded exceptionally to Mr. Hammouchi, reflecting France’s confidence in its Moroccan partner and its security services, which have played a crucial role in thwarting terrorist plots on French soil in recent years and have assisted French security with a bundle of intelligence information leading to the arrest of extremists planning serious terrorist attacks or wanted in terrorism cases.

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Thanks to its security achievements, Morocco has become a key partner for many international actors who have established partnerships with Rabat to benefit from its expertise in counter-terrorism, extremism, and transnational crime.

Among these partners, alongside France, is Spain, which has repeatedly acknowledged Morocco’s role and the role of the services led by Hammouchi in helping Madrid avoid serious terrorist attacks.

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The prevention by Spain of serious terrorist plots thanks to cooperation with Morocco has revealed a meticulous follow-up by Moroccan security services of the latest technologies to track extremist discourse online and the digital cells of extremist organizations, which now also use artificial intelligence for recruitment and propaganda.

It is clear that the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance, led by Hammouchi, who is also Director General of the General Directorate of National Security, worked early on to improve its performance to contain and track the digital activities of terrorist cells, both locally and internationally.

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Through its knowledge of Islamic militant activities in Morocco and the surrounding region, the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance has carried out high-level preventive operations, thwarting serious terrorist plots within the Kingdom, in neighboring Spain, and in other Western countries, providing precise information that led to the dismantling of dangerous terrorist networks.

It is not surprising that this performance has reached an advanced level. Hammouchi is considered one of the most prominent security officials, known for his understanding of the methods of jihadist cells on the ground and in the virtual digital space, which has become another front of confrontation between these organizations and security and intelligence services.

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Today, Morocco is a key player in international efforts to combat terrorism and radicalization, employing a significant security strategy and experience in managing various threats and dangers, alongside international alliances and special partnerships with the United States and other Western countries that have enhanced its capabilities to deal with security threats.

In recognition of this role, Madrid also honored Abdelatif Hammouchi last May, when he was the only African security and intelligence official to participate in the official celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the Spanish National Police, in the presence of the Spanish King.

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In October of last year, precise information provided by the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance enabled German authorities to arrest a dangerous terrorist of German nationality and Egyptian origin, who was planning several terrorist attacks, including a truck attack in Berlin.