“Fifteen days earlier I was sitting at a table where decisions affecting an entire country were being made. Fifteen days later, I was alone, in nine square meters, trying to understand how I had gotten there”. When it has been exactly one year since he entered prison, Santos Cerdán has published La caída. Poder, relato y destrucción en la era del juicio político, the book in which he breaks his silence. Throughout 164 self-published pages, he recounts his experiences during the almost five months he was in Soto del Real, explains how he lived the days that led to his downfall, and offers a long philosophical dissertation on Justice and the media. He complains, for example, that public opinion is a “permanent tribunal without guarantees” that has imposed on him an “anticipated social condemnation” and attributes the investigation into him to “something that was not seeking the truth”.

The judge investigating the Leire Díez case at the Audiencia Nacional has added 25 new investigated individuals to the proceedings. In a brief order, which ARA has accessed, Santiago Pedraz has summoned – among others – the current president of SEPI, Belén Gualda, as an investigated person in the investigation relating to alleged irregularities in the awarding of public contracts. So far, Vicente Fernández – former president of SEPI –, Antxon Alonso – a businessman from Navarre close to Santos Cerdán – and Leire Díez had been indicted. The magistrate's decision comes at the request of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, which points to the crimes of criminal organization, influence peddling, embezzlement, prevarication, and insider trading. The Spanish government "maintains" its "confidence" in Gualda – SEPI, as the State's investment arm, is an agency that depends on the Ministry of Finance –, government sources indicate, defending that in the proceedings "no element appears that compromises the current president".

In recent days, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has deployed his defense strategy on multiple fronts: four written statements in four days. The latest step taken by the former Spanish president has been to lash out very harshly at the UDEF, whom he holds responsible for his diaries and conversations with his secretary having ended up leaked to the media.having ended up leaked to the media. He denounces it as an “authentic outrage”, an “indiscriminate dissemination” with a “devastating result” and “the most serious attack that can be made” against the rights to honor, privacy, self-image, and secrecy of communications. This latest request, which ARA has accessed, is added to the other moves he has recently made to try to invalidate the chats that incriminate him. They are all conversations between third parties who speak about him and which were the basis of his indictment. So far, his roadmap focuses on attacking the origin and legitimacy of the evidence.

The day after they came to light the private conversations and diaries of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Judge José Luis Calama, the investigating judge of the Plus Ultra case at the National Court, has requested that the leaks be investigated. Calama has sent the request to the courts of Madrid, urging them to identify those responsible for the leaks, which he considers potentially criminal. The magistrate emphasizes that the facts have "gravity" and could fit into criminal offenses of revealing reserved proceedings. In parallel, the former Spanish president has requested Calama to nullify all actions in the case due to the violation of four fundamental rights. According to the document, to which ARA has had access, Zapatero claims that an "illicitly analyzed piece of evidence" has been incorporated into the proceedings.

The investigation by the Audiencia Nacional into José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is revealing the movements of the former Spanish president in recent years. L'ARA has gained access to his 2024 and 2025 diaries and to the WhatsApp conversations he had with his secretary, Gertrudis Alcázar, between April 2025 and the day of his indictment. "Cancel my run?", she asked him that morning. "Yes, of course", he answered her immediately afterwards. There are messages in which both speak directly about Junts. "I can't do English, mess with Junts", Zapatero told him on July 21, 2025. The next day there was the last plenary session of Congress of the political year and Junts voted against the anti-shutdown decree, which also derailed with the rejection of Podem, and against the advance payments, which Moncloa saved thanks to the approval of the PP.

There is a comparison between two fashionable judges who are currently making a name for themselves: José Luis Calama, who is investigating José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero at the National Court, and Juan Carlos Peinado, who has sent Begoña Gómez to trial after a two-year investigation. It is obvious to everyone that the way these two major media cases in which they are involved are being handled is different. Indeed, high-ranking voices from Moncloa in the corridors of Congress admit that Calama "is not" Peinado, as shown by the fact that the investigation into the former Spanish president, still in its early stages, does not have the extravagances of the indictment of Pedro Sánchez's wife. The clear distance between the two has become evident, especially in two matters: the adoption of precautionary measures and the indictment of individuals who have previously testified under oath to tell the truth. Let's go step by step.

The Unit of Economic and Fiscal Crime (UDEF) of the Spanish police has opened a new front for José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. A report accessed by ARA reveals that the former Spanish president allegedly received 200,000 euros from a Peruvian company –Grupo Gloria– in exchange for "mediating or influencing" "various millionaire lawsuits" that the company had in Bolivia. He allegedly charged them through a "simulated contract" with an intermediary company –Focus Social– through three invoices: one for 100,000 euros in 2024 and two for 50,000 euros in 2025. For this purpose, he "allegedly met or contacted" "high political spheres" of Bolivia, such as President Luis Arce, the ministers of Economy and Justice, and the state attorney general. At the center of the target was a sanction of 107 million dollars that the company's cement subsidiary –Soboce– had received.

Junts per Catalunya has taken advantage of Pedro Sánchez's appearance in Congress regarding the corruption cases that tarnish the PSOE to make a move and put a new roadmap on the table to ensure the continuity of the legislature. "Step aside and let this parliament put someone in who does have the capacity to fulfill commitments to Catalonia," Míriam Nogueras demanded during her speech. She considers the situation "unsustainable" and that the current Spanish president is the "main obstacle" for the legislature "to be able to culminate the objectives for which it was conceived." This unexpected proposal comes weeks after the leader of the Junts party in Madrid urged the Spanish president to dissolve the lower house: "What argument do you have left not to call elections?" she asked him just two months ago.

There is a Basque company that in recent hours has dominated the political news in Madrid: Tubos Reunidos, an Álava-based company founded in 1982 that manufactures seamless steel tubes. In the summer of 2021, within the framework of the coronavirus pandemic, it received a bailout from the Spanish government of 112.8 million euros from the same fund from which, for example, Air Europa or Plus Ultra benefited. A new report from the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard, to which ARA has had access, states that the group comprising Leire Díez, Vicente Fernández – president of SEPI between 2018 and 2019 – and Antxon Alonso – a Basque businessman linked to Santos Cerdán – would have taken actions to "facilitate" the company receiving the bailout. And it includes an approach to the PNB that "could have contributed to bringing about the granting [of the aid]". For the management that the group carried out before and after the bailout, it would have received commissions worth 247,000 euros in various payments channeled through different routes.

"An organic, organized, and continuous corruption from the highest instances of political power." By unanimous decision, the seven judges of the Supreme Court have upheld the sentence requested by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and have sentenced José Luis Ábalos to 24 years and three months in prison in the first trial of the mask case. The former strongman of Pedro Sánchez for three years in the PSOE and in Moncloa, and who has been in Soto del Real for seven months, has ended up convicted of belonging to a criminal organization, bribery, influence peddling, and embezzlement.

Leire Díez has been under the scrutiny of the National High Court for days for allegedly orchestrating – and with the hand of Santos Cerdán – an structure to derail the judicial cases of Pedro Sánchez's circle. The investigation will take another step from next week with the declaration of lawyer Jacobo Teijelo as investigated and a battery of 24 witnesses who will begin to parade before Santiago Pedraz. According to the judge, what the so-called plumber of the PSOE did was to offer "remunerations or favors" in exchange for information or actions that would help to torpedo investigations uncomfortable for the socialists. Some of her interlocutors believed that what she was telling them was "fantastical," a "waste of time," or an "intrigue," even though Leire Díez boasted of having the capacity to maneuver in high instances to achieve her goals. Where did the tentacles she claimed to have reach?

While everyone was waiting for Juan Carlos Peinado to decide whether to send Begoña Gómez to trial and whether to revoke her passportdecide whether to send Begoña Gómez to trial and whether to revoke her passport, the controversial judge has made an unexpected move and has decided to open a new line of investigation in the case concerning Pedro Sánchez's wife. It is a separate piece for the crimes of prevarication and fraud against the interests of the European Union for a contract that was awarded to a company owned by Juan Carlos Barrabés. In a resolution of just over 200 words, the magistrate limits himself to citing the decree of the European Prosecutor's Office and avoids giving any minimal explanation of who intervened. It is, therefore, a very embryonic first step. Four hours after it became known, Peinado had to issue a new resolution to "clarify" that the piece is opened "solely" with respect to the businessman and, therefore, excludes the Spanish president's wife.

The day after José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero spent three hours testifying as an investigated person at the National Court, audios have been leaked in which the former president of the Spanish government can be heard defending himself against accusations of having allegedly committed a crime of influence peddling to obtain the public bailout of Plus Ultra, an airline linked to Venezuelan capital. It had already emerged that the former socialist leader had denied it. And, in the recordings to which ARA has had access, he can be heard saying: "I did not speak with any political authority, with any official, with any public employee about the Plus Ultra bailout." Throughout the interrogation by Judge José Luis Calama, the former Spanish president insists. "I had no involvement, I did not speak with anyone [...] and this is an unquestionable truth. There will be no one who can say otherwise. Therefore, I did not exercise the slightest influence nor did anyone ask me to."

The day after José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero declared himself investigated, Judge José Luis Calama makes a move and takes a further step: he indicts his two daughters –Alba Rodríguez and Laura Rodríguez– and his secretary –Gertrudis Alcázar–. The magistrate did so after the PP requested it, as leader of the popular prosecutions, pointing to the crimes of criminal organization, influence peddling and money laundering. It was an initial request from Hazte Oír that the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office subsequently endorsed. Why are they being investigated?

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero reiterates his innocence and denies before the judge José Luis Calama that he influenced in any way the rescue of Plus Ultra, the loan of 53 million euros that the airline company received from the Spanish government in March 2021. According to what ARA has been able to learn, this is what he said during his declaration at the National Court this Wednesday, which began shortly after nine in the morning and has made him the first former president of the Spanish government since the restoration of democracy to declare as an accused in a judicial investigation. He is accused of influence peddling, money laundering, tax offense, and smuggling. Zapatero said that he "never" had direct contact with Plus Ultra and denied asking any authority or official to facilitate the rescue. He specified that the only person he has dealt with is Julio Martínez Sola, the president of the airline, whom he did not know until 2024. However, his explanations have not convinced Judge Calama, who believes that Zapatero "has not managed to dispel" the indications of criminality against him and that they "derive from various and different sources of evidence".

The judge investigating actress Elisa Mouliaá following the lawsuit filed by Íñigo Errejón for alleged defamation has ordered her arrest and to be brought before the court. This was agreed upon 24 hours after the actress failed to appear for the third summons as an investigated party. In the ruling, to which ARA has had access, Arturo Zamarriego argues that Elisa Mouliaá "has repeatedly expressed her intention not to appear" in court, which demonstrates a "clear and unequivocal will to evade the action of justice." The arrest warrant will be in effect until June 2031. Furthermore, the magistrate is forwarding testimony to the dean's office of the Madrid courts in case Mouliaá's "repeated non-appearance" constitutes a crime of disobedience to judicial authority. The actress was summoned this Monday at eleven in the morning at the Plaza de Castilla courts, but she did not show up, alleging she was working abroad, and stated on social media that she was available remotely.

"Never ever". And so on, and so on. The Director General of the Civil Guard, who appears splashed in the Leire Díez case summary, has flatly and unequivocally denied that she intervened in any way in maneuvers to "obstruct" judicial proceedings being investigated by the National Court. "I have never participated in any plot or conspiracy against the UCO, I have never participated in any smear campaign against the UCO, and I have never taken any measure against any UCO agent," Mercedes González proclaimed vehemently as soon as her appearance began before the Senate Interior Committee, convened by the PP's absolute majority. "I have never persecuted my own because they are my family," she added later. "I am not involved in any sewer," she even said. To defend herself, she boasted that there had been "no complaint" from UCO agents who felt threatened or coerced, and after two and a half hours, she concluded her statement with a proclamation: "Every day I have to tell myself that I have done nothing wrong. Meanwhile, the fury eager to achieve destruction and desolation will roar.

A new report from the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard, to which ARA has had access, supports the alleged leadership role that Santos Cerdán would have exercised in the Leire Díez case. The National Court is investigating an alleged "criminal structure" to "obstruct" judicial proceedings and "protect the interests" of Pedro Sánchez. The 107-page document reinforces the existing evidence and, among other things, includes a report on the "management of travel expenses" related to Santos Cerdán and other members of his team in 2024 and 2025, which was prepared by the PSOE and handed over to the UCO three weeks ago. "He gave verbal instructions to his support staff to authorize any trip requested by Leire Díez in such a way that she personally communicated with the Secretariat staff to request trips," the report by Santiago Llorente, coordinator of the party's management, states.

The Kitchen case has put the leadership of the Ministry of the Interior under Jorge Fernández Díaz on the accused's bench, accused of spying on Luis Bárcenas and trying to steal information that could compromise the PP. Throughout the investigation, Judge Manuel García-Castellón drew a fine but robust line to confine the suspected facts to the ministry and leave the party aside. However, during the investigation, there were other relevant figures who were investigated or whom the Prosecutor's Office requested to indict. Mariano Rajoy is not on the list: in September 2021, the Prosecutor's Office pointed to a "possible responsibility" of the former Spanish Prime Minister, but no one ever formally requested that he be investigated. As a witness, and despite the existence of an audio from María Dolores de Cospedal that directly implicates him in the operation, he denied having destroyed evidence of the PP's 'caja B'. Who are the ten saved?

In recent weeks, political news in Madrid has been marked by judicial investigations. The outbreak of the Leire case and the Zapatero case have shaken the PSOE and have once again placed Pedro Sánchez in a moment of maximum weakness. And there is a repeated name that appears linked to the so-called plumber of the PSOE and the investigation into the former president of the Spanish government: Nervis Gerardo Villalobos, who was Vice Minister of Energy in Venezuela with Hugo Chávez from 2004 to 2006.