The driver confirms Mazón's lies about his arrival at Cecopio

ValenciaA new witness has come forward against the actions of former Valencian president Carlos Mazón on the day of the DANA storm. The former head of the Valencian government's team has confirmed the falsity of the numerous versions offered by the PP leader and his team regarding their handling of the disaster, and especially regarding his arrival at the Palau de la Generalitat and the Cecopio (Emergency Coordination Center). According to sources present at his testimony, the driver told the investigating judge that the first Es-Alert (8:11 p.m.) sounded while Mazón was heading to the Emergency Coordination Center, located in the town of L'Eliana, and before they had even left the city of Valencia. The driver's account coincides with the version provided by the bodyguards on February 9th, They placed the arrival of the Popular Party leader at the Palau at 7:50 p.m. "He was alone. He went up to the office and said, 'Now come down and we'll leave,'" they asserted.

Witnesses from the driver and the security team corroborate Mazón's lies. He initially denied being at lunch, claiming he had been at the Palau working since early afternoon after meeting with employers and unions. He then admitted to having lunch with journalist Maribel Vilaplana at the El Ventorro restaurant and maintained that he returned to his office around 6:00 p.m. and arrived at the Cecopio shortly after 7:00 p.m. Later, he pushed back his arrival time to 7:00 p.m. It wasn't until November 2025, more than a year after the disaster, that it was discovered that after a nearly four-hour lunch, the former president had accompanied the journalist to a nearby parking lot. They reportedly said their goodbyes shortly after 7:30 p.m., with the former head of the Consell arriving at the Palau at 7:50 p.m. and at the Cecopio at 8:28 p.m.

Maribel Vilaplana says that Mazón wasn't in a hurry to finish lunch at El Ventorro and that they talked about football.

The driver's statement comes the day after Juan Ramón Cuevas, head of the Risk Analysis and Emergency Monitoring Unit of the Valencian Regional Government, explained to the investigating magistrate that his department was already aware of the "problems in the Poco ravine" by 6:30 p.m. on the day of the storm. This information is relevant because former Regional Minister Salomé Pradas has always denied that the critical situation in the ravine was known in time to warn the population, claiming that the entire focus of the Cecopio (Emergency Coordination Center) was on the Forata reservoir. In fact, Pradas still maintains that the 8:11 p.m. alert was sent only "for Forata."