The PP-PSOE clash escalates over the "dirty war" against the Civil Guard: what's going on?

Madrid / BarcelonaThe PP has found in the allegedoperation against the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard, which he attributes to the PSOE, his main source of attack against Pedro Sánchez. That's why, a few days before the demonstration called by Alberto Núñez Feijóo In Madrid, against the "mafia" they attribute to the Socialists, the Popular Party has expanded its offensive in the judicial sphere.

The party announced this Tuesday that it has filed a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office against activist and journalist Leire Díez, businessman Javier Pérez Dolset, and lawyer Jacobo Teijelo, the three protagonists of the audio recording that was published last Monday. The Confidential and which revealed maneuvers to uncover dirt on Civil Guard investigators. A few hours later, another move occurred: Leire Díez resigned from the PSOE after appearing before the party's ethics committee.

What is the PP denouncing?

Crimes of influence peddling, bribery and obstruction of justice

In the complaint, the PP considers that all of this is part of a "dirty war" waged by the Socialists and their "satellites" against judges, prosecutors, and members of state security forces for obstructing cases affecting the PSOE. "What I don't want is for this man, Antonio Balas [head of economic crime at the UCO], to become the executioner of us all. And, for now, what he's doing is turning us all into his prisoners and jailers [...] This is what needs to be dismantled," Díez said in the conversation.

The PP accuses Díez, Pérez Dolset, and Teijelo of alleged crimes of bribery, influence peddling, obstruction of justice, and being a criminal group or organization, according to PP sources. In parallel, an association of non-commissioned officers of the Civil Guard also filed a complaint in court on Monday.

Pérez Dolset's version

He presents himself as a victim of the sewers and denies working for the PSOE.

In an interview on Catalunya Ràdio, Pérez Dolset played down the PP's accusation. "The PP's accusation doesn't worry me because their secretive people already tried to get rid of me in 2013 with a report by Villarejo," he said, after denying that he had committed any kind of fraud. Planeta Group's attempt to buy your company and get rid of him. "I have never diverted money to Panama, and the most obvious proof is that the bank accounts were fake," he asserted.

Pérez Dolset, who was in pretrial detention and whose audio recording was published in September in which, without further context, he says that Sánchez himself and the PSOE's organizational secretary, Santos Cerdán, were behind the plot, has denied any involvement. In this regard, he said that the audio recording is "distorted" and that Sánchez was simply aware that he was being persecuted. "I am not the one who plumber of no one, I only work for myself and to restore my honor, like the rest of the victims," he wanted to make clear, and rejected that he acts on behalf of the PSOE.

Leire Díez resigns from the PSOE

The socialist activist appears in Ferraz and will be counted on Wednesday.

On the other hand, Leire Díez has so far preferred not to speak publicly. This afternoon, she appeared before the PSOE's Ethics and Guarantees Committee regarding the investigation the party had opened against her. Upon arriving at Ferraz, she told the media: "I want to thank the people who have dealt with me these days for their kindness. I will say nothing and continue to say nothing." However, after meeting with the director of the party's legal services, she summoned the media to a public appearance at a Madrid hotel at 10:00 a.m. this Wednesday. Shortly after, the PSOE announced that Díez is resigning from the party. In written responses to some media outlets that have contacted her in recent days, she has stated that she does not work for the PSOE and that the investigations into the UCO are related to a book she is writing.

The Spanish Government's Management

Ministers are involved with the WhatsApp messages of a senior Ayuso official.

The Spanish government is balancing its efforts to manage this situation: on the one hand, it rules out the existence of a "patriotic UCO", as this alleged group of the Civil Guard that would maneuver against the PSOE has already been dubbed in some circles, but at the same time it points to some individuals such as Captain Juan Vicente Bonilla. This former head of human resources at the UCO has been the head of corporate security management for the Madrid health service since October 2023, in the government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso, and in recent days some of them have been revived in the media. WhatsApp which was sent in 2021 with a confidant. In an interview on Telemadrid, the Madrid president dismissed these accusations as "mud" and maintained that the PSOE is pursuing a "cope" strategy to undermine institutions like the UCO (Union of the Wall). "On their North Korean side of the wall, anything goes if it means preventing the right from governing," she said.

The latest controversy was a message in which he said "or a limpet mine in my guts." He retracted it, and the Moncloa continues to point out Bonilla's "aggressive" rhetoric toward his interlocutor against the Sánchez government.

PP and ERC request his appearance

Sánchez has avoided answering any questions from the media since this controversy erupted. The People's Party (PP) requested his appearance in Congress last week, and ERC and Podemos did so this Tuesday. If there ends up being a majority in the Board of Spokespersons of the Lower House, the Spanish president will have to explain himself. He will likely encounter a right-wing group that will criticize the alleged PSOE entourage seeking dirt on the UCO (Union of the Workers' Union) and its pro-independence partners, who have experienced what it's like to be victims of political police.