Política

Leire Díez was appointed in April 2024, by order of the then PSOE organization secretary, Santos Cerdán, to initiate a series of actions to save the PSOE and Pedro Sánchez’s circle from the legal cases that threatened them and to dig up dirt on their political rivals. Now, the Audiencia Nacional has uncovered these dealings and found a large amount of audio material because Díez recorded those clandestine meetings, where she offered agreements with the Prosecutor’s Office and claimed to be the emissary of the PSOE and the Government to “put themselves on the right side of history.”

The operational central unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard points to its own director general, Mercedes González, as one of the ways that Leire Díez’s plot would have to torpedo uncomfortable investigations for the environment of President Pedro Sánchez. The file, to which La Vanguardia has had access, reveals that the PSOE “plumber” met, at least, on three occasions with González, whom she urged to initiate an internal investigation in the UCO – for alleged leaks – to intimidate the high command. Just a week ago, the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, stood up for the highest official of the armed institute, assuring that “he had not had any meeting with Leire Díez in terms of any kind.”

The alleged “plumbing” scheme would have started with a clear directive and an “ultimate goal”: “to protect the interests at stake” of the socialist party and, directly or indirectly, of the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez. The mastermind would be Santos Cerdán, then the strongman of the president, and it all began when his wife, Begoña Gómez, was charged. What can be inferred from the reports of the Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard included in the case file, which La Vanguardia has accessed, is that Cerdán already had other dangerous connections prior to that April 2024 with Leire Díez and the former president of SEPI Vicente Fernández. In fact, they are being investigated by the National Court for rigging public contracts.

The Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard has come this morning, by order of the National Court, to search the headquarters of Tubos Reunidos, one of the companies rescued during the pandemic by the State Industrial Holdings Company (SEPI), just like Plus Ultra.

The climax of the trial against David Sánchez at the Badajoz Court is approaching for the alleged crimes of malfeasance and influence peddling. The brother of the Prime Minister will testify this Thursday and will have the opportunity to defend himself against the accusations that he was appointed in the Badajoz Provincial Council in 2017. Also testifying in this fifth session of the trial will be the former president of the Provincial Council and former secretary general of the PSOE of Extremadura, Miguel Ángel Gallardo, accused of having designed a senior management position tailored for David Sánchez.

The judge of the National Court José Luis Calama has ordered a preliminary appraisal of the numerous jewels found during the police search on May 19 in the office of the former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, according to Efe.

Pope Leo XIV will meet with the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, on Tuesday, June 9 in the afternoon, at 4:15 PM. It was a meeting that was not on the public agenda of the Pontiff and was already planned, since between the midday prayer at the Barcelona cathedral and the event at the Lluís Companys stadium there were several free hours which, according to the trip organizers, were for private meetings of the Pontiff.

The agreement between PP and Vox for Castilla y León contains 19 sections and more than 300 measures in 62 pages. In general terms, it is quite similar to the pact that both parties already sealed in Extremadura and Aragón. With this understanding, the forecast is that PP and Vox will govern together and Alfonso Fernández Mañueco will be invested next week.

The long and difficult fourth session of the trial against David Sánchez was led by Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Balas, head of the economic crime department of the Central Operative Unit of the Civil Guard (UCO). Balas, who was in charge of the investigation of the case after seizing thousands of emails from employees of the Badajoz Provincial Council and from David Sánchez himself, concluded that the position of the president’s brother as coordinator of conservatories “was predetermined” and that it was the then president of the Badajoz Provincial Council, Miguel Ángel Gallardo, who had allegedly created the position by appointment for David Sánchez.

The Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard points out in a recent report, to which La Vanguardia has had access, that “the ultimate goal” of the alleged plot led by Santos Cerdán and Leire Díez to “destabilize or obstruct” judicial proceedings opened against the PSOE was “to protect the interests at stake” of the socialist party and, directly or indirectly, of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez.