Some of the 400 people evicted yesterday in Badalona They spent the night on the street.

Some of the 400 people evicted yesterday in BadalonaThey spent the night on the street

Santos Cerdán declared in the Senate that "There is a before and after the photo with PuigdemontA man facing prison defends himself as best he can, and in these times in Spain and the world, that amounts to saying his prosecution is political. Yes: when Pedro Sánchez abandoned him, Cerdán was left reeling. Therefore, it's pertinent to ask whether there's nothing to the alleged corruption, or whether corruption and Cerdán's judicial persecution are simultaneously compatible with an amnesty law, said the Vox senator questioning him. Perhaps he didn't realize the gravity of what he was admitting. fachoferaHe spoke with the offended tone of the coup-plotting generals, insisting: "There is something crucial for which you and your entire government should be tried, and that is having granted amnesty to coup plotters who wanted to break up Spain." Cerdán had just been handed the opportunity on a silver platter: "I've said that from the beginning. You're right about that: it all stems from here."

Under investigation for alleged corruption in the Supreme Court, Santos Cerdán presented his defense strategy in the Senate on Wednesday. This comes amid a crisis within the Spanish government. cases piling up in the courtsand a month later to be released on bail from prisonThe former number three of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) appeared before the Koldo case committee in the Senate to once again assert his innocence. Although he invoked his right to remain silent regarding the specific charges against him, he claimed to be the victim of a "persecution worthy of the Inquisition" and linked the investigation to his role in the amnesty law agreement. "I will defend myself; let it be clear, I am innocent, I am not corrupt, and sooner or later you will be able to verify this," he said in an initial statement read from a laptop. The former socialist leader, who spoke with his lawyer, Jacobo Teijelo, before entering the courtroom, denounced the "unfair trial" he has been subjected to, claiming that "no specific crime is being investigated." And in a subsequent response to the senator from the Junts per Catalunya party, Eduard Pujol, he stated that the case against him "would not have exploded" as it did if he hadn't led the negotiations with Junts for Pedro Sánchez's investiture, which culminated in the Brussels agreement. "There is a before and after the photo with Puigdemont [...] Everything changed after that photo," he said.

Pedro Sánchez's government is increasingly dependent on the courts. Anxiety is spreading among the Socialist ranks, especially after a week that has brought two new developments: five arrests These events have brought to light two new cases—which remain secret—and a Civil Guard report that once again implicates José Luis Ábalos. These are ongoing investigations into issues that strike at the heart of the Spanish president's political roadmap and the origins of his rise to power. Of the five arrested, the National Court has released former Socialist Party member Leire Díez, Vicente Fernández Guerrero, former president of SEPI (State Holding Company for Industrial Participations), and Basque businessman Antxon Alonso, owner of the company Servinabar and a friend of Santos Cerdán, former PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) organizational secretary. All five were released with precautionary measures (passport confiscation and periodic court appearances) after the prosecution did not request their imprisonment.

Last June, theCivil Guard report that implicated Santos Cerdán in an alleged corruption scheme It shocked the PSOEFour days after the case broke, Pedro Sánchez convened the party leadership and announced a series of measures to answer: among others, their appearance in CongressThe expulsion of José Luis Ábalos from the party and the creation of a parliamentary commission to "uncover the truth" about the Koldo case. The request, registered the following day by the parliamentary group, argued that the "seriousness of the events and conduct" reflected in the UCO report "demanded" a parliamentary investigation because it was "essential" to know the facts "in depth."

The 180 meters separating the Supreme Court from the National Court have never seemed so short. Last Thursday, while José Luis Ábalos faced the possibility of being sent to prison by Leopoldo Puente in the case concerning the purchase of face masks – as It ended up happening—Víctor de Aldama testified before Ismael Moreno regarding contracts awarded by the Canary Islands government during the pandemic; an alleged corruption scheme that has led to multiple parallel investigations with interconnected links. So much so, that even the lawyers involved are still unclear about the number of ongoing cases and their scope. We're taking it one step at a time.

The National Court judge investigating the Koldo García case, Ismael Moreno, has requested that the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) provide him with a list of all cash payments made between 2017 and 2024. The magistrate wants the Socialists to submit the documentation within a maximum of 10 days. "The PSOE wishes to clarify that we are not under investigation in this case, and that our commitment to transparency, as well as our cooperation with the justice system, is absolute. We will provide the court with the requested documentation," stated Socialist sources. Weeks ago, the party headquarters in Ferraz specifically provided details of cash payments made to José Luis Ábalos, Santos Cerdán, Koldo García, and the party's Organizational Secretary. The judge is acting at the request of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, which seeks to dispel doubts about the income of the former Minister of Transport and former PSOE Organizational Secretary, as well as his former advisor. The public prosecutor's office speaks of a possible criminal offense ranging "from money laundering" to a possible embezzlement committed against the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party). According to the ruling of the National Court magistrate, the investigations carried out in the Supreme Court regarding the Koldo case do not "sufficiently clarify" the origin of the cash that Ábalos received, which appears in one of the reports submitted by the Central Operational Unit (UCO).

One day after Santos Cerdán's release from prison, the PSOE is widening the gap between itself and its number three in order to shield itself from the alleged corruption scheme. This was made clear on Thursday by Minister Félix Bolaños, who stated that the latest report from the Central Operational Unit (UCO) The Civil Guard provides "solid evidence" against the former Socialist Party organizing secretary. "There are many things that are clear," added Minister Ángel Víctor Torres. "If [Cerdán]He claims there is evidence that they are lies."He will have to prove it," she added on Catalunya Ràdio. The former Socialist Party number three will have an opportunity to explain himself in December before the Senate's investigative committee. The People's Party (PP) has taken advantage of his release from prison to announce that it will summon him. "Now that he's free and has time," the PP spokesperson in the Senate quipped. Speaking to the media at an event in Madrid this morning, she asserted that those at the party headquarters in Ferraz are "very disappointed and shocked" by the new developments in the case when asked about the alleged 2% commissions that, according to the UCO (Central Operative Unit of the Civil Guard), Cerdán received in exchange for awarding public works contracts to Acciona. "We had the information we have. If we had, we would have behaved differently," she emphasized. Juanfran Serrano, Cerdán's former deputy in the PSOE's organizational secretariat, also expressed his shock at the revelations about Cerdán. The PP has also summoned him to the Senate. In his case, a date has already been set for Thursday, December 4th. He admitted that the latest information on the case is "damaging" to the party, but they have emphasized the speed and "forcefulness" of their actions in relation to the scheme. "It didn't affect the party, but rather it was a scheme involving specific individuals," Bolaños said. And he added: "We are absolutely certain that there is no irregular financing."

The ARA publishes new information about the Cerdán caseNow that the judge has lifted the secrecy order on the latest Civil Guard report, conversations between Antxon Alonso and his wife, Karmele Atutxa, have surfaced. Both, worried, complain about the "excessive spending" of Santos Cerdán's wife, Francisca Muñoz, known as Paqui. Alonso laments, "All the saleswomen at El Corte Inglés know her. Spending and spending. And at restaurants, weekend after weekend." His wife complains that, on top of everything else, they aren't discreet.

On Wednesday, morning shows were buzzing with the new report from the Central Operational Unit (UCO) on the Santos Cerdán case. But the approach ofPublic Mirror It was very original. They incorporated an allegorical staging. Susanna Griso's program invited former Socialist deputy Diego López Garrido to comment on the report. But they weren't so much interested in what the man could explain as in how they would represent him.

New developments in the Cerdán case have multiplied in recent hours. This is because Judge Leopoldo Puente, who is investigating the alleged corruption scheme at the Supreme Court, lifted the secrecy order on Tuesday. the latest report from the Civil Guardwhich tightens the net around the former number three of the PSOE. The importance that the magistrate gives to the evidence collected and the fact that the risk of its destruction has disappeared have even led him to release Santos Cerdán on bail, imprisoned in Soto del Real for more than four months.

Santos Cerdán was the main focus of the day in Congress. This occurred before the news had even broken. the decision by the judge investigating the former number three of the PSOE to release himThe report by the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard, made public yesterday, is what has been the focus of the PP's attacks on the Spanish government during the question period. "The spindle is Ferraz (the PSOE headquarters) and you've taken it to Moncloa Palace," Alberto Núñez Feijóo reproached Pedro Sánchez. The PP questions whether the Spanish Prime Minister knew nothing about the alleged irregularities committed by those who, until less than six months ago, were his right-hand men, and they have made the percentage that, according to investigators, the company Servinabar, supposedly linked to Cerdán, received from public works contracts awarded to Acciona, into a category they are expanding. "They are the 2% government," the PP's Secretary General, Miguel Tellado, also declared. At Moncloa Palace, they do not deny the "seriousness" of the events that the UCO attributes to Cerdán, but they insist on portraying the alleged scheme as an isolated case that they disassociate from both the PSOE and the Spanish government. "Zero tolerance for corruption," Sánchez responded to the leader of the opposition, echoing his remarks from Tuesday during the joint appearance with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Sánchez, like other Socialist voices in the halls of the lower house on Wednesday, argued that the party acted "decisively" from the "very beginning." In fact, although the Popular Party has attacked the Socialist leader, the new evidence against Cerdán does not currently threaten the legislature. The spokesperson for ERC, Gabriel Rufián, reiterated that the Spanish government "must not fall" if the Cerdán case remains "three men sharing money through corrupt practices," but warned again that if it "escalates" and illegal financing of the PSOE is proven, the Republicans will ask Sánchez to call elections. The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), another ally of the plurinational majority, has expressed a similar view. The Basque nationalists have been targeted by the PP (People's Party) because Feijóo's party has extended its accusations to the party led by Aitor Esteban. According to the UCO (Central Operative Unit of the Civil Guard) report, the PNV (Basque Nationalist Party) allegedly asked Cerdán to make several appointments after the 2018 vote of no confidence that ousted Mariano Rajoy. Esteban has denied this "categorically." "They're trying to stir things up by making accusations that make no sense. The PP isn't moving forward. It's stuck on the vote of no confidence and is setting a very bad example of what it means to conduct dignified politics," complained the PNV spokesperson in Congress, Maribel Vaquero, in statements to the corridors. For Feijóo, however, it has been proven that Sánchez's 2018 vote of no confidence "wasn't against corruption, but rather for the corruption of his cronies."

After 142 days in Soto del Real prison, Santos Cerdán has been released on bail by order of the Supreme Court judge investigating him for alleged corruption. Upon his release, the former third-ranking member of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) denounced the "lies" and "manipulations" that, he says, are being spread about him. "I trust that the truth will prevail and justice will be served," he declared outside the prison on Wednesday night. However, Judge Leopoldo Puente's decision does not represent an improvement in Cerdán's legal situation, but quite the opposite. The judge investigating the case of alleged illegal commissions in public works contracts, who until now had justified keeping him imprisoned due to the risk of evidence tampering, ruled on Wednesday that he had gathered sufficient evidence to ensure that the release of the former PSOE leader would no longer compromise the investigation. The decision comes just one day after... a new report from the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard came to light, in which investigators place Cerdán as "the link" between the Spanish government and Acciona, the construction company at the epicenter of the alleged scheme.

The Civil Guard and the Supreme Court are making progress in the investigation of the Cerdán case. While the former Secretary of Organization of the PSOE has been in Soto del Real prison for almost five months, a new report from the Central Operational Unit (UCO) places him as a "liaison" between the Ministry of Transport and Acciona, the construction company allegedly involved in irregular public works contracts. In return, he or his associates received "personal profit" from Servinabar, the company linked to Santos Cerdán (according to the UCO). bought 45%, a version whose defense denies), which had a close economic link with Acciona. The Civil Guard report, to which ARA has had access, was the trigger for the records from last week at different Acciona and other locations indictment of three executives Those linked to the company have been summoned to testify on December 3rd.

The Supreme Court judge investigating José Luis Ábalos, Leopoldo Puente, has already found sufficient evidence to send him to trial for alleged irregularities in mask contracts. Conversely, the magistrate is taking further steps to try to secure the other branch of the case, related to public works contracts. The Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard searched the Madrid and Bilbao headquarters of Acciona, one of the construction companies under investigation, this Friday. Sources close to the investigation confirmed to ARA that the search was carried out as part of a separate, secret branch of the case that led to the provisional imprisonment of the former number three of the PSOE, Santos Cerdán. In the mask-related branch, the former Minister of Transport and his former advisor, Koldo García, and the middleman Víctor de Aldama are under scrutiny. In the ongoing investigation into public works contracts, Ábalos and Koldo are the common denominators, and Cerdán's alleged involvement in the network of illegal commissions in exchange for awarding contracts has been added to the case. The UCO report that led to the resignation of the former Socialist Party organizing secretary referred to contracts pre-awarded to Acciona—one of them in Catalonia—which the three individuals under investigation discussed in conversations analyzed by the Civil Guard. In these conversations, they mentioned the amounts they still owed in commissions they allegedly received in exchange for [BK_SLT_LNA]. The multinational founded and controlled by the Entrecanales family is one of the main construction companies implicated in the Cerdán case, to the point that it represented the dismissal of the director of the construction area in Spain, Justo Vicente PelegriniIts appearance in the UCO report caused a major shock to the company, which also terminated its contracts and partnership agreements with Servinabar 2000, a company also under investigation by the Supreme Court for its involvement in the scheme and alleged connection to Cerdán from the period before his arrival.

Did Leire Díez offer legal benefits in exchange for dirty laundry about Civil Guard investigators? And if so, was she acting on behalf of the PSOE? Whose orders was she following? Both she and the socialists deny That the journalist and former activist worked for the party, a new audio recording points in the opposite direction. According to the recording of a conversation she had with prosecutor Ignacio Stampa, which has been leaked to media outlets in recent hours such as The Country and The WorldDíez presented himself as "the person the PSOE has put in place" and, more specifically, as the "right-hand man" of Santos Cerdán, former number three in the party and now under investigation—and in pretrial detention—in the Koldo case.

The People's Party (PP) long ago decided to sacrifice the Senate's value as a chamber of territorial representation and a second reading body, turning it into a sounding board for their opposition to Pedro Sánchez. That's why they thought it was a good idea to summon the Spanish Prime Minister to testify before a commission on the Koldo case in a room they completely control. But once again, and this has happened several times now, the PP has failed, and Pedro Sánchez has emerged unscathed from the lamentable spectacle that unfolded in the Senate.

Following the new Civil Guard report revealing financial mismatches involving José Luis Ábalos and Koldo García, they appeared before the Supreme Court this week and remain on provisional release. In contrast, former PSOE organizational secretary Santos Cerdán has been imprisoned since June, and the investigating judge in the case, Leopoldo Puente, has twice reaffirmed his decision. Why this discrepancy? Of the three factors that legitimize provisional detention, the judge ruled out the risk of flight and repeated offenses, but warned of the possible destruction of evidence.

Setback for Santos Cerdán. The Constitutional Court (TC) has rejected the former Socialist leader's appeal for protection of constitutional rights, which sought the suspension of the pretrial detention he has been serving since June. According to the high court's statement on Monday, the decision was made unanimously by its members at the proposal of the reporting judge, José María Macías Castaño.