In recent days, a new torpedo has emerged that the PP is using to fire against Pedro Sánchez and the Spanish government. Last week, Beatriz Biedma, the judge from Badajoz who investigated and sent the brother of the PSOE leader to the dock, asked to appear as a private prosecutor at the National Court in the case regarding Leire Díez. The reason? The alleged maneuvers to remove her from the investigation of the David Sánchez case. Since then, news has been appearing in a cascade speaking of an alleged relationship between the Los Rochos drug trafficking clan and those christened politically and media-wise as the sewers of the PSOE. And the PP has clung to it during the control session in Congress to pounce on the Moncloa.

The PSOE maintains unchanged the script it has established since the Leire Díez case broke out and continues to build a wall between Ferraz and the woman known as the socialist plumber. Now it has been the turn of Ana María Fuentes, the current party manager, who has testified at the National Court as under investigation for forgery of commercial documents. The Civil Guard and Judge Santiago Pedraz suspect that she falsified invoices and engagement letters to get money to Leire Díez and, in turn, conceal the payments. Sources present at the statement explain to ARA that Ana María Fuentes has shifted the blame onto Santos Cerdán, who at that time was the party's organization secretary and is also under investigation, alleging that he was the one who made the decisions and who ordered and gave the go-ahead to the engagement orders, invoices, and payments. She defended that she did what he told her, that she limited herself to paying and that she "did not control" expressly and specifically what the money was spent on.

After the holidays and a resumption of the political term marked by the Ceuta crisis, the courts return to the forefront of current events. This week, Pedro Sánchez will see two executives from Plus Ultra, the manager of the PSOE, and the former director of the Civil Guard file through the National Court in the two investigations that have gained the most momentum in recent weeks and which could shake him the most: those of the Leire Díez and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero cases. What is expected to happen in the coming days and weeks?

An “anti-party” that “does not align with any ideology” and rejects the “regime of 78” is responsible for the National High Court investigating the massive entry of migrants into Ceuta and that, in parallel, a court in Madrid has opened a criminal case regarding the purchase of the luxury penthouse for Isabel Díaz Ayuso. It is Iustitia Europa, a group known for intervening as popular prosecution in judicial cases involving the PSOE environment and which will make the leap to general elections in 2027. “We are transversal and we defend that the solution to corruption must come from civil society. After almost fifty years, we have a serious problem in Spain and we must move away from left-wing and right-wing ideologies,” defends its president, Luis María Pardo, in conversation with ARA.

The judge is making a move to X-ray the alleged payments made by the PSOE to Leire Díez within the framework of the supposed maneuvers instigated to destabilize and hinder judicial cases involving Pedro Sánchez's circle. Santiago Pedraz wants to delve into the suspicion that a series of invoices paid by the party served to covertly fund the activity of the person known as the plumber of the PSOE. The National Court magistrate has accepted the request from the Civil Guard –endorsed by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office– and has requested information from twelve banks regarding the movements and balances of 81 accounts related to the case. Six of them belong to the PSOE. In addition, there are 62 belonging to Ismael Oliver and his law firm, eleven linked to Gaspar Zarrías, who was vice president of the Regional Government of Andalusia, and one belonging to Jacobo Teijelo, who is one of the lawyers for Santos Cerdán.

The Catalan socialists deny any relationship with the media Crónica Libre, the supposed informative "instrument" of Leire Díez's plot in the PSOE. The collaborator and shareholder of the newspaper directed by the late Patricia López, operated under the leadership of the then organization secretary Santos Cerdán, according to the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard. There is no trace in the summary of a relationship between the PSC and the plot – although the UCO does not rule it out – and only a specific link with a town hall governed by the socialists. The municipal government of Salou, headed by the PSC-Sumem coalition, paid for an advertising campaign to Crónica Libre.

Almost every week a new indictment appears related – more directly or indirectly – to the PSOE. The latest name to emerge is Juan Manuel Serrano, who was president of Correos from 2018 to 2023 and director of Pedro Sánchez's cabinet at Ferraz. His name joins a long list of people – with different levels of responsibility – allegedly involved in fourteen open lines of investigation. The first convicted person was the State Attorney General, Álvaro García Ortiz, but there are a total of 50 officials related to the Spanish government or the PSOE, members of the Civil Guard, and men who were of Sánchez's utmost confidence who have ended up before a judge. That's up to 109 if we also count the 59 businessmen, family members, and lawyers – and other profiles – indicted in the different open cases.

The Director General of the Civil Guard has returned to the National Court to testify as an investigated party for prevarication and obstruction of justice within the framework of the Leire Díez case. Her name surfaced after the Central Operative Unit (UCO) discovered that she had met with the person known as the PSOE's "plumber", even though she has distanced herself from the alleged plot to torpedo judicial investigations from the outset. According to what ARA has been able to ascertain, she stated before the judge that she is a "victim" of Santos Cerdán, who was the party's number three and with whom she "never" had a "good relationship," and assured that if she had known that Leire Díez was coming on his behalf, she would have refused to receive her. She added that she saw "nothing suspicious" in the contacts with her and that they never spoke about internal investigations within the Civil Guard.

No pressure or orders not to investigate Pedro Sánchez's circle. The Deputy Operational Director (DAO) of the Civil Guard, who is being investigated for prevarication and obstruction of justice within the Leire Díez case, has defended himself before Judge Santiago Pedraz. The former head of the Central Operative Unit (UCO), Rafael Yuste, assured that in July 2024 he urged agents to "step aside" in judicial cases with political implications and urged them not to be proactive and to cede the lead in driving cases to the judges. Manuel Llamas has been testifying for over two hours and has denied any maneuver to torpedo or obstruct investigations: he assured that at no time did he say they should step aside and denied any kind of pressure.

Cristina Narbona has completely dissociated herself from the maneuvers that Leire Díez allegedly instigated to destabilize judicial cases around Pedro Sánchez. The president of the PSOE, who exchanged WhatsApp messages with the then socialist militant on the day the Spanish president began the five days of reflection, has made it clear that “he had no knowledge whatsoever” of the alleged plot being investigated by the National Court. He said this when questioned by journalists after a declaration as a witness under half an hour before Judge Santiago Pedraz. Leire Díez told him that she "knew facts that could be important" and she referred her to Santos Cerdán because he, as the party's organization secretary, was in charge of communication policy. According to what ARA has been able to learn, behind closed doors she said that Díez called her because she "wanted to collaborate and help" and had "useful information for the party." "I'm referring to information, not sewage," she clarified. Of course, she acknowledged that the Civil Guard's reports describe "worrying indications."

The causes surrounding the PSOE have some common ground. One of these common denominators are the main investigated individuals – José Luis Ábalos, Santos Cerdán, and Koldo García – who appear in different courts. But another is people who had never been involved in politics, who were not initially on the radar, and who have ended up becoming key figures in the ongoing investigations.

Santiago Pedraz tightens the circle around Pedro Sánchez's inner circle. The judge investigating the Leire Díez case at the National Court has decided to investigate Juan Manuel Serrano, who was Pedro Sánchez's chief of staff at the PSOE before he reached Moncloa and president of Correos from 2018 to 2023. He takes this step after the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office requested it following "}the latest report from the Civil Guard, which concluded that he had a “relevant and preeminent participation” in the alleged plot. The report from the Central Operative Unit (UCO) indicated that he and Díez would have “worked closely in the achievement of the objectives” of the supposed organization, both in the alleged irregular awarding of contracts within the SEPI environment and in attempts to destabilize judicial cases linked to the socialists.

Almost all the analysis space is occupied by the noise of Spanish politics, a noise that has two fundamental emitters. The first is corruption close to the PSOE and Pedro Sánchez (Ábalos, Koldo, Cerdán), which adds a new indicted person:

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".

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.

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?

"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.

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.

The State Attorney General's Office, led since December by Teresa Peramato, has confirmed to the judge in the Leire Díez case that the so-called PSOE "plumber" met twice with the right-hand man of her predecessor, Álvaro García Ortiz, along with lawyer Jacobo Teijelo, who is currently part of Santos Cerdán's defense and is also under investigation by the National Court. The interlocutor was Diego Villafañe, who was the deputy prosecutor of the Attorney General's Technical Secretariat and who "later informed" the State Attorney General of the two meetings. The first meeting took place on March 6, 2025, and prosecutor Beatriz López Pesquera also participated. Prosecutorial sources explain that Jacobo Teijelo informed of "the existence of a series of facts presumably committed by third parties that could have criminal relevance." Subsequently, between late March and early April, a second meeting took place, in which Teijelo communicated his "intention to file several complaints with the Attorney General's Office related to those facts".