Pradas Colla Mazón: will deliver all the WhatsApp messages with him and Cuenca on the day of the DANA storm.
The messages will corroborate that he did not speak to the former head of the Council, following instructions not to disturb him.
BarcelonaSalomé Pradas, the councilor under investigation for the DANA storm, has gone on the offensive since Carlos Mazón resigned as president. Previously, Mazón had pointed to her as ultimately responsible for the tragedy, dismissing her and washing his hands of any responsibility for the late and erroneous issuance of the alert to the public. She demonstrated this when she contradicted the now former head of the Consell, who, on the eve of the tragedy's anniversary, claimed that he had not informed her about the Es Alert. He replied that he had done it at 7:43 p.m. After calling him twice previously without Mazón answering because the former president claimed he had his phone in his backpack.
But the shift in his strategy has been more evident with the interview he gave on Sunday on the program Saved On La Sexta, he directly criticized the former president's lack of concern and leveled harsh reproaches at his actions. It didn't land him in legal trouble, but it further damaged his already tarnished public image. In that interview, The former councilor hinted that she had WhatsApp messages with the former president. which she had not yet made public. Faced with this offer on a silver platter, the judge asked if she would be willing to hand over these communications to the court, and Pradas, who had already provided the calls from that day, didn't hesitate for a moment and will facilitate their release. She will do so in a couple of days once she has compiled all the information. The messages refer only to the morning of October 29th, because Pradas revealed in the interview that she did not exchange any messages with Mazón in the afternoon, during the worst hours of the emergency response.
The information she is using as part of her defense strategy consists of the messages she exchanged with Mazón, as well as with the inner circle and other members of the Consell (Valencian Government) or people outside the Cecopio (Emergency Coordination Center) with whom she may have exchanged messages during the dramatic day of October 29th, which ended with the deaths of 229 people. In this regard, Pradas will also deliver the messages with Mazón's chief of staff and right-hand man, José Manuel Cuenca.
Mazón's disconnection
The messages will confirm that from 2 p.m. onwards, Pradas only contacted Cuenca because Cuenca told him not to bother Mazón, as he had "events" to attend. Cuenca, appearing before the DANA committee in Congress, stated that he "absolutely" did not recall making this request to Pradas during their 1:20 p.m. phone conversation, but he believed "very normal" She was told that Mazón couldn't see her because he had other commitments. However, the only appointment he had after that time was the controversial lunch with Maribel Vilaplana at El Ventorro, which was delayed by almost four hours.
In the interview, Pradas explained that she tried to speak with Mazón shortly before 1 p.m. on October 29th. "He didn't answer the phone," the former councilor admitted. So she decided to inform him of the two alerts that Emergency Services had just issued "by text message." These were the two hydrological alerts issued for the Magro River at 11:45 a.m. and for the Poyo ravine at 12:20 p.m., which remained in effect throughout October 29th. Although the Valencian Government Presidency, during Mazón's tenure, tried to create the impression that the alerts "had been withdrawn." Pradas explained that, starting at 2:00 PM, he began speaking with Cuenca. "I imagine that the information I was giving him reached Mazón. They knew that the Cecopio (Emergency Coordination Center) was being convened, that the UME (Military Emergency Unit) was being mobilized at 3:30 PM, and that the situation in Utiel was very complicated." Given the lack of news from Mazón, at 4:29 PM, Pradas disregarded Cuenca's order and called Mazón directly to inform him of the severity of the floods in Utiel out of "a sense of responsibility." However, the former head of the Consell (Valencian Government) did not end the lunch and extended the conversation for another two hours.
