Politics · Spain · 3 hrs ago
Guardia Civil deputy chief ordered UCO probe despite ruling out leak
The Guardia Civil’s deputy chief ordered an internal investigation into whether its UCO unit leaked messages between Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and former transport minister José Luis Ábalos.
The UCO investigates the Koldo case, and the leaked messages were published in May.
A UCO submission to a judge says Manuel Llamas had been told the leak did not come from the unit before the investigation was opened.
UCO officers said they had not seen the messages on devices seized in the case, and that none had been handed to Ábalos or the court.
They also said some published messages dated from 2023, while the seized material only went up to 2021.
The UCO said this made it impossible for the messages to have come from its seized material; Ábalos later acknowledged that he had leaked them.
The internal investigation nevertheless continued, according to the UCO submission, which was sent to the judge after Llamas gave evidence as a suspect.
The Guardia Civil’s deputy operational director ordered an internal investigation into the UCO despite saying he was clear that the unit had not leaked messages between Pedro Sánchez and José Luis Ábalos.
A UCO report to the judge in the Cloacas case says the DAO, Manuel Llamas, had been told the leak did not come from the unit.
The investigation was opened on Monday 12 May, according to the report.
The UCO said the messages could not have come from devices seized in the Koldo case, which contained material only up to 2021.
The report says the reserved investigation continued after this information was given to the general appointed to conduct it.
- Who
- Manuel Llamas, the Guardia Civil’s deputy operational director, ordered the investigation. The UCO and its former chief, Rafael Yuste, were involved.
- What
- Llamas ordered an internal, reserved investigation into the UCO over a leak of messages between Pedro Sánchez and José Luis Ábalos.
- When
- The investigation was opened on Monday 12 May. The year is not stated.
- Where
- The investigation concerned the UCO, a unit of Spain’s Guardia Civil.
- Why
- The DAO sought information about whether the UCO had the messages and which seized devices had been handed over. The sources do not state his reason for ordering the investigation.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The DAO asked whether the UCO had the messages and which seized devices had been handed to the court or Ábalos.
UCO officers said they had not seen the messages on any device and were still checking.
A reserved investigation into the UCO was opened.
A message from the head of Guardia Civil Judicial Police said the DAO had already conveyed that he was clear the leak did not come from the UCO.
- DAO
- Manuel Llamas
- UCO chief at the time
- Rafael Yuste
- Investigation opened
- Monday 12 May
- Messages involved
- Exchanges between Pedro Sánchez and José Luis Ábalos
- Koldo case evidence
- Seized material went only up to 2021
2 sources
What people are saying
We don't have any of that, do we?
As far as I know, no.
It was clear that the leak did not come from the UCO.
None of the group leaders knew about the messages included in the news story.