The alleged influence scheme of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is said to have met with a “guy from SEPI” (State Society of Industrial Participations), according to a report from the Economic and Financial Crimes Unit of the Police contained in the case file accessed by La Vanguardia. In that meeting, in addition to the “guy from SEPI,” one of the shareholders of Plus Ultra, Roberto Roselli; the friend and alleged frontman of the former Prime Minister, Julio Martínez Martínez; and Zapatero himself participated in a “clandestine” manner.

The UDEF agents who entered the official office of former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero last Tuesday seized numerous documents, which are currently being analyzed by the investigators. As stated in the case file accessed by La Vanguardia, the agents seized more than twenty folders, another twenty agendas, and several hard drives.

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero would have used his private residence “for sensitive dealings and receipt of shipments.” This is evident from the case file, accessed by La Vanguardia, in which Zapatero is being investigated as the alleged leader of “an influence trafficking network.” The judge of the National Court José Luis Calama has summoned the former Prime Minister to testify on June 2 to provide explanations about the alleged kickbacks that the network would have collected for the bailout of the airline Plus Ultra, approved by the Council of Ministers in March 2021 for 53 million euros.

The details of the case affecting the airline Plus Ultra for allegedly having paid for influence to secure a bailout of 53 million euros reveal their ways of proceeding. In a conversation found on the phone of one of the investigated, there is talk of paying ladies in cash, after having received 50,000 euros in cash. “We have to take care of the judges, police, and officials hehe,” they boast in messages sent on New Year’s Eve 2020.

Sumar has closed ranks with the PSOE against the hypothesis of an early election that the PNV suggested yesterday and which has gained wide acceptance at the start of this week in Madrid. And it has done so not only to advocate for the continuity of the legislature, but also to demand that its partner accelerate the pace and turn the remaining two years of the term into a period of recognizable reforms. This was endorsed by the general coordinator of Movimiento Sumar, Lara Hernández, during a meeting organized by Nueva Economía Fórum, which also took advantage of the event to launch a proposal with a strategic vocation. To convene after the summer “a great national meeting of all the lefts of this country” that serves as the embryo of a future candidacy for the next general elections.

The spokesperson for the Canarian Coalition in Congress, Cristina Valido, has declared the current legislature presided over by Pedro Sánchez finished and has argued that “the logical thing” would be to call elections this year to “wipe the slate clean” in 2027 and start working with a new government.

The former Prime Minister Felipe González has said it, for the first time, loud and clear. In his opinion, there should be general elections this year, given the weakness of the current Government of Pedro Sánchez. Although González does not base this opinion exclusively on the latest events surrounding his successor José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, he maintains that he cannot imagine him in the role depicted by the UDEF about him, at the head of a criminal organization involved in influence peddling, but he assures that the judge handling the case is being “extremely protective of rights.” He said this in the interview he held at the forum of the Valencian Business Association, AVE, chaired by Vicente Boluda.