Cerdán, Sánchez's right-hand man who sat down with Puigdemont and recommended Koldo

BarcelonaIn recent weeks, a new name has emerged in the galaxy of those implicated in the alleged corruption scheme in which former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos and his former right-hand man, Koldo García, allegedly participated. It is Santos Cerdán (Milagros, 1969), who until yesterday was the PSOE's organizational secretary and a member of Congress, and who has resigned following the UCO report implicating him in the case. A PSOE member for more than 20 years, Cerdán became known to the general public when he starred in the photo of the thaw between the Socialists and former President Carles Puigdemont: he was in the office of the leader of Juntos in the European Parliament during the negotiations for Pedro Sánchez's investiture in October 2023. This one more in October 2023. This one was intended to smooth over relations that were on the verge of derailment with Junts' threat to force a vote of confidence. With his departure, the PSOE will also have to find a replacement to rebuild trust with Carles Puigdemont.

But who is Santos Cerdán? He is, to begin with, a man who enjoys the Spanish president's utmost confidence and one of his most loyal squires in his rise (and subsequent return) to the general secretary of the PSOE. Sources familiar with the matter describe him as a "classic" organizational secretary, one of those who prefers working in an office and working for the party rather than being in front of cameras. plumber of the PSOE is, by training, a technician in industrial electronics and denies any accusations against him in the Ábalos case.

A Navarrese by origin and from a socialist family, Cerdán began his political career in his hometown of Milagro, where his sister, Belén Cerdán, is a councilor. There he became the organizational secretary of the Navarrese federation of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party). It was also there that he met Koldo García, a PSOE member in Navarre and also a supporter of Sánchez. They both closed ranks in support of the Spanish president in the 2014 primary campaign against Edu Madina. It was in this context that Cerdán sent Koldo a message that a report from the UCO (University of Navarre) has now revealed, allegedly confirming vote-rigging on election day to inflate the results in favor of Sánchez: "When it's over, you can write it down as if they had voted for these people who are missing without anyone seeing you," and you can write both.

It was Cerdán who suggested Ábalos hire Koldo as a chauffeur: the former minister, then secretary of organization, was looking for someone available 24 hours a day (and dedicated to the cause) who could accompany him on trips around Spain to rebuild the party after the primaries. The PP has taken advantage of this connection between the three to dub them the "Peugeot gang," a reference to the car Sánchez used to travel around Spain to win the primaries against Susana Díaz in 2017.

"We will dismantle the lies one by one"

From that position, Koldo rose to become an advisor in the Ministry of Transport and allegedly had a hand in the purchase and sale of masks and other public contracts in the scheme that also implicated Ábalos. Now, the judge is investigating whether the three—Koldo, Ábalos, and Cerdán—arranged a corruption scheme in the awarding of public works contracts. as stated by the commissioner Victor de AldamaCerdán has denied any involvement in alleged manipulation of public tenders, and in fact, the PSOE maintained its full confidence in him until Thursday, when the first reports came out. He issued a statement closing ranks with him. They downplayed his role, asserting that any party leader monitors processes affecting their territory. Three from the PSOE and, incidentally, Pedro Sánchez, who has commissioned an audit to try to stop the coup.