Maribel Vilaplana now claims that the lunch with Mazón lasted an hour longer.

BarcelonaAlmost a year after the DANA (National Anti-Terrorist Strike), Maribel Vilaplana breaks her silence. She does so to postpone the end of the meal she had with the president of Valencia, Carlos Mazón, at the El Ventorro restaurant for another hour, when dozens had already died in various regions as a result of the severe flooding. In an open letter, the journalist details the time she left the establishment, when sources close to her initially claimed she had left just minutes before 5:45 p.m.: "The interruptions caused by calls, coupled with waiting and saying goodbye, also delayed my departure from the restaurant, which finally took place around 6:30 p.m."

Thus, she explains that the pressure she experienced in the following days caused her to make a mistake about the time she had initially stated that the controversial lunch had ended: "At the time, in the midst of the whirlwind with which the events unfolded, the confusion and the pressure experienced, yes, the pressure experienced, that it became public. However, with the distance of time and after speaking with those closest to her, I considered it necessary to clarify this point as well," she explains. With this clarification, Vilaplana also places Mazón in El Ventorro up to that time, something that was still unknown to this day. Thus, Mazón stayed for lunch although she knew from Councilor Salomé Pradas that the Forata dam was in danger since 5:37 p.m.

As those close to her had already emphasized until now, Vilaplana makes it clear that she was not aware of what was happening in the towns that suffered the ravages of the DANA. "At a certain point during the meal, the president began receiving calls that continuously interrupted our conversation. I remained in the restaurant, completely unaware of these communications: I didn't ask, I didn't participate, I didn't know their content at any time, and the president didn't express any concern to me about it. I acted, as I always have, with discretion."

Be that as it may, as ARA reported, Mazón became active on the day of the DANA just after Vilaplana received a message detailing the devastation in Utiel. The journalist received a message from a close person with a tweet from À Punt in which the mayor of Utiel warned of the critical situation in his municipality with a video and urged residents not to leave their homes. Although sources close to the journalist assured that Vilaplana did not show her the video or alert her, the fact is that the head of the Consell, just six minutes after Vilaplana received that message, called the president of the Valencia Provincial Council, Vicent Mompó, to ask for the phone number of the mayor of Utiel.

After denouncing the campaign of harassment she suffered, which led to her being hospitalized, Vilaplana disassociates herself from any responsibility and emphasizes that her attendance at that meal was "a damned coincidence and a horrible stroke of bad luck." In this sense, the communicator points out that it is the Valencian government that must provide explanations. "The focus must be where it belongs: on the people who had responsibilities and decision-making power that day. They are the ones who must provide explanations," she states before asking for respect for herself and her family, and above all, for the victims. The victims will be honored at a state funeral on October 29, exactly one year after the tragedy, in the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, the Spanish government announced today.

Mazón's number two went to some awards during the Cecopio meeting.

Meanwhile, the First Vice President of the Generalitat (Catalan Government), Susana Camarero, went into another corner this Friday, attempting to justify her decision to leave the meeting of the Integrated Operational Coordination Center (Cecopi) on October 29th to attend an awards ceremony at a critical moment when the Forata Dam was seriously endangered. "I'm not leaving a body of which I'm not a member," she maintained.

In response to media pressure, Mazón's deputy assured the press conference following the Consell plenary session that she fulfilled her obligations and was attentive to the juvenile centers and nursing homes under her responsibility, including during the awards ceremony organized by the Valencian Business Confederation (CEV). To justify her absence, Camarero asserted that between 5:02 p.m. and 5:40 p.m., when she was connected telematically to the meeting, there was no discussion at the Cecopi about the Forata Dam. However, the statements of the main witnesses in the DANA case and those under investigation, as well as the vast amount of documentation in the judge's hands, indicate exactly the opposite.