Vox leader Santiago Abascal has called for Spain’s Socialist leadership to be arrested and brought before the courts after Civil Guard officers returned to the party’s national headquarters in Madrid as part of a National Court investigation linked to former Socialist Party activist Leire Díez.
“The Central Operational Unit of the Civil Guard has returned to the Ferraz headquarters, that is, the headquarters of the Socialist Party. Not a week goes by, not a day goes by, not even an hour goes by, without us learning new details about the Sánchez and Zapatero mafia, the Zapatero and Sánchez mafia, that has governed Spain for eight years,” Abascal said.
“They must be arrested and brought to justice, and the Spanish people must know that all those who are still defending and justifying them from various national and international positions are doing so only because they are part of the same mafia,” he added.
The intervention at the Socialist Party’s headquarters on Ferraz Street was ordered by a National Court judge as part of a separate investigation into the so-called Leire case. The case centers on Leire Díez, a former Socialist activist described in Spanish media as a fixer linked to the party, and also involves Vicente Fernández Guerrero, the former president of the State Society of Industrial Holdings, known as SEPI.
As part of the same proceedings, Civil Guard officers also carried out searches and seizures at the Madrid homes of former Socialist Party figures Gaspar Zarrías and Santos Cerdán, as well as businessman Javier Pérez Dolset. The Socialist Party’s manager, Ana María Fuentes, has also been charged.
The developments came as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was in Rome for a meeting with the Pope, an engagement that was quickly overshadowed by the deepening judicial pressure on his party and on former Socialist prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who last week became the first former head of government in Spain’s democratic era to face criminal charges. These pertain to allegedly misusing funds to bail out an airline during the Covid-19 pandemic, in addition to alleged ties to criminal organizations, including a money-laundering network.
Sánchez used his press conference at the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See to repeat his support for Zapatero.
“Full cooperation with the justice system, full respect for Mr. Zapatero’s presumption of innocence, and my full support for President Zapatero,” Sánchez said.
“After what I have read, and what I have been able to discuss with people who know much more about the law than I do, there is no reason to change that position,” he added. “I have had the opportunity to review the court order, and through the media, the extensive summary, and frankly, I said it in the Spanish Parliament, and I reaffirm it here today.”
Sánchez said he had learned about the Civil Guard’s presence at Socialist Party headquarters only after leaving the Vatican. “It’s not a search, it’s a request, and I think it’s important for citizens to know this. The Civil Guard makes many such requests to institutions,” he told reporters.
The prime minister insisted he was not minimizing the investigation, while arguing that his party would cooperate with the courts and respond if wrongdoing was established.
“I also want to say that, if we are ultimately talking about this case of former activist Leire Díez, decisions were obviously made immediately when this case came to light more than a year ago,” he continued. “If there is any wrongdoing, we will act with the same forcefulness as we have before.”
Asked about the indictment of party manager Ana Fuentes, Sánchez described her as “a woman who has meticulously managed the PSOE’s accounts. There has been a lot of speculation, a lot of fake news … I insist, I’m not downplaying its importance or seriousness, but I want to make it equally clear that the moment new information comes to light, the PSOE will act decisively.”
“We are a party that has nothing to hide, and when we have to act, we act, and of course, we don’t tolerate these kinds of situations,” Sánchez added, as cited by El País.
Despite the escalating pressure, Sánchez again ruled out calling early elections, saying he intended to remain in office until the end of the parliamentary term.
“I cannot call elections for partisan interests; what is important is the general interest of the citizens,” he said.
