Spain’s National Court made history last week by placing former Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero under investigation for allegedly leading a criminal network engaged in influence peddling, money laundering, document forgery, and related offenses. The inquiry centers on the $61.5 million public bailout of the Venezuela-linked airline Plus Ultra. Court filings and raids […]
Spain’s Zapatero exposed as Maduro’s fixer. Trump must extradite him now
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Story Timeline
Tue 20:59 - El Mundo (ES)
Panic in the PSOE that Montero will fall below 28 seats: "It could be the end of his career"
Tue 20:59 - El Mundo (ES)
Zapatero acts as Montero's great 'wild card' in the toughest campaign: three joint acts in 13 days
Wed 09:11 - El Mundo (ES)
Montero endorses Maíllo's mistake in the debate, calling the death of two civil guards who were chasing a drug boat a "work accident"
Wed 10:27 - El Mundo (ES)
The Senate reproves Sara Aagesen for "deliberately" hiding the causes of the blackout and "fleeing" the Chamber
Wed 13:08 - El Mundo (ES)
The PP expresses in Congress Montero's crisis over the death of two civil guards: "Why were there no operational air resources in Huelva?"
Wed 20:45 - El Mundo (ES)
Moncloa admits more "violence" by drug traffickers with "weapons of war" in a report sent to Congress the day Montero spoke of a "work accident"
Wed 20:46 - El Mundo (ES)
Moreno takes advantage of Montero's crisis to finish off the campaign: "She is dying alone"
Thu 08:42 - El Mundo (ES)
The left accuses Ayuso of "inventing narco movies" in Mexico while the PP points to Sánchez for "ordering to set fire to" the visit
Thu 12:11 - El Pais
The PSOE asks the Prosecutor's Office to investigate a “dirty campaign” against Montero
Thu 12:57 - El Pais
Moreno challenges superstitions: he takes a photo with 'Blanca', granddaughter of his talisman cow, and avoids a black cat
Fri 20:40 - El Mundo (ES)
Moreno multiplies in the final sprint to tie the majority against a blurred Montero tied to Pedro Sánchez
Sat 20:36 - El Mundo (ES)
Pedro Sánchez is preparing to ignore an electoral punishment in Andalusia but critics warn: "There is a current in the PSOE that is tired of losing elections"
Sun 03:30 - El Pais
The chronicle | Andalusia closes the electoral cycle without altering Pedro Sánchez's plan
Sun 16:23 - ANSA Mondo
Peru, Fujimori and Sánchez officially on the ballot on June 7th
Sun 16:34 - El Mundo (ES)
The PSOE candidate in Granada votes at a table that does not belong to her and forces a random vote from the ballot box to be cancelled.
Sun 20:54 - ANSA Mondo
The PP wins in Andalusia but depends on Vox, the PSOE resists
Sun 21:29 - El Pais
Montero leads the Andalusian PSOE to its worst historical result
Sun 21:59 - El Mundo (ES)
The polls in Andalusia batter Sánchez's project and diagnose him with the 'schism syndrome'
Sun 22:14 - El Mundo (ES)
Moreno achieves an insufficient victory to avoid Vox despite the historic disaster of the PSOE
Sun 22:52 - El Mundo (ES)
The leader of Adelante, great winner of 17-M: forged in the most radical left, will not be Sánchez's "crutch"
Sun 23:02 - Financial Times
Vox becomes kingmaker as Sánchez suffers defeat in Spanish regional election
Mon 05:58 - Euronews
Europe Today: Sánchez dealt blow in Andalusia elections — what now for Spain and Brussels?
Mon 08:48 - The Guardian
Spain’s conservatives forced to rely on far-right Vox party after losing majority in Andalucía
Mon 10:20 - El Mundo (ES)
Page suggests that Sánchez looks "the other way" with the defeats of the PSOE waiting to see if "the flute sounds again" in the general elections as in 2023
Mon 10:50 - El Mundo (ES)
Podemos challenges Sumar and takes advantage of Adelante's blow to run as the axis that brings together an "autonomous" left "not subordinated" to the PSOE
Mon 10:58 - El Mundo (ES)
The collapse of the PSOE with Sánchez: it loses weight in 4 elections in 5 months, burns its best candidates and drags down the faithful left
Mon 15:12 - Euronews
Spain keeps tilting right despite Pedro Sánchez’s progressive international agenda
Mon 15:46 - El Mundo (ES)
Sánchez defends his opposition to the 'national priority' at the WHO in the midst of the Andalusian elections
Mon 22:01 - El Mundo (ES)
Pedro Sánchez's pending accounts with ERC: financing model, personal income tax, El Prat, Rodalies, Catalan teams, language...
Tue 08:25 - El Mundo (ES)
The PP links Sánchez with the alleged "corruption" of Zapatero and Vox urges Feijóo to present a motion of censure
Tue 12:08 - El Mundo (ES)
This is what EL MUNDO told it: from Zapatero's charges from his friend at Plus Ultra to the contract with the commission of 1% of the ransom
Tue 12:39 - El Mundo (ES)
Zapatero, in a video after his accusation: "I have never carried out any action in relation to the rescue of Plus Ultra"
Tue 13:01 - El Mundo (ES)
Moncloa believes in Zapatero's "innocence" and Sánchez sends a message to the members of the PSOE leadership asking to defend his legacy
Tue 13:22 - El Mundo (ES)
The judge places Zapatero as the "leader" of an "influence peddling structure" to rescue Plus Ultra and to profit from two million euros in commissions
Tue 20:54 - El Mundo (ES)
Secretaries, lackeys and shareholders: the key pieces of a "hierarchical" network on three levels
Tue 20:54 - El Mundo (ES)
Zapatero's "lackey" advanced approval of the rescue to Plus Ultra 4 days before Aagesen and other officials approved it
Tue 21:41 - El Mundo (ES)
Zapatero beat Ábalos as a quick route to rescue: "Camilo was with ZP today and everything is going smoothly"
Tue 22:03 - El Mundo (ES)
The truths of the thirty-something who has 200 apartments (and sells them all): "I pay 100,000 euros in mortgages every month. If I voted for my interest, I would have to vote for Sánchez..."
Tue 23:23 - El Mundo (ES)
The judge places Zapatero as the "apex" of the corrupt plot and highlights his "strategic leadership"
Tue 23:23 - El Mundo (ES)
The Court delayed Zapatero's accusation for six days so as not to interfere in the Andalusian elections
Tue 23:23 - El Mundo (ES)
The food in Portonovo that triggered the plot: the opaque network in Dubai was promoted after "talking" Zapatero and his paymaster
Tue 23:23 - El Mundo (ES)
The hit of Zapatero's 'nepobabies': his daughters earned a million for work "with no technical value"
Wed 03:30 - El Pais
The judge points out that Zapatero trafficked his influence with Chinese and Venezuelan companies through a cover consulting firm.
Wed 03:30 - El Pais
How does the judge justify the influence peddling attributed to Zapatero?
Wed 03:30 - El Pais
The “multiple evidence” that points to the former president: “Tomorrow Zapatero will intervene directly”
Wed 03:30 - El Pais
Who is who in the “financial boutique” allegedly led by Zapatero?
Wed 03:30 - El Pais
Profile | Zapatero, from president without blemish to former president under suspicion
Wed 03:30 - El Pais
Zapatero, accused
Wed 03:45 - El Pais
The accusation against Zapatero: “The Government is in shock”
Wed 07:16 - El Mundo (ES)
Zapatero's office that the judge places as the "center of the network" is a 181-meter apartment in front of the PSOE headquarters and property of the party
Wed 07:19 - El Mundo (ES)
Sánchez gives "full support" to Zapatero and recovers all the 'classics' against the PP: the photo of "narco", the Iraq war and 11-M
Wed 08:57 - El Mundo (ES)
The partners break their complicity with Sánchez in the face of the Zapatero scandal: "Charging for political efforts is a crime", "it doesn't look good", "lawfare is not clear"...
Wed 09:43 - El Mundo (ES)
Riquelme's company, Florentino's rival, strikes down two former senior officials of Aldesa, the construction company that paid Zapatero's plot
Wed 11:12 - El Mundo (ES)
Riquelme plucks the daisy while keeping his candidacy for Real Madrid in the air: "We have the moral obligation to take the step... if we can"
Wed 11:13 - El Mundo (ES)
One of the Plus Ultra accusations asks to withdraw Zapatero's passport due to "high risk of flight" and for former ministers Montero and Escrivá to testify.
Wed 16:50 - El Mundo (ES)
Zapatero plotted from the "president's office" oil operations with "the lady" Delcy and with the Chinese Communist Party
Wed 20:40 - El Mundo (ES)
The prodigious decade in which Zapatero conquered Venezuela
Wed 20:41 - El Mundo (ES)
Ábalos warns from prison: "If Zapatero falls, everything falls; after Sánchez there is nothing"
Wed 20:41 - El Mundo (ES)
The PSOE's faith in Sánchez is broken with Zapatero: "Perhaps this will not be enough"
Wed 21:24 - El Mundo (ES)
Riquelme gets a free pass from his investors to challenge Florentino Pérez for the presidency of Madrid: "They could be the last elections"
Wed 22:17 - El Mundo (ES)
The ICO guaranteed anticovid debt of 100 million to the construction company of the Zapatero plot after the organization signed the company's own financial director
Thu 03:30 - El Pais
The strategy of businessman Julio Martínez will mark Zapatero's judicial future
Thu 03:30 - El Pais
PNV and Junts leave the legislature pending Zapatero's judicial declaration
Thu 03:30 - El Pais
A company with high losses paid more than half a million euros to the company of Zapatero's daughters
Thu 07:39 - El Pais
The commotion over the accusation of the former president sets the Assembly on fire: “Sánchez has linked his destiny to that of Zapatero”
Thu 08:31 - El Mundo (ES)
Ayuso assures that Zapatero's "plot" "tried to get involved in the works on Metro Line 11" but that the Community "stopped him"
Thu 10:30 - El Pais
Aldama disassociates Armengol and his Balearic Government from the collection of commissions for the mask plot
Thu 10:31 - El Pais
Imputation of Zapatero for the 'Plus Ultra case', live | The PP summons the governor of the Bank of Spain to the SEPI commission in the Senate for the 'Plus Ultra case'
Thu 10:44 - El Mundo (ES)
Aldama declares in the National Court that Zapatero used disposable phones like those in the mask plot
Thu 10:46 - El Mundo (ES)
The referees denounce Florentino Pérez, Real Madrid and their TV before the Anti-Violence Commission
Thu 10:51 - El Pais
The PP announces a “total offensive” in the SEPI commission in the Senate for the ‘Plus Ultra case’ and summons former minister Escrivá
Thu 10:54 - El Mundo (ES)
The PP, on the "total offensive": Zapatero's secretary and her man in Venezuela; the manager of 'Julito' and former minister Escrivá will parade for the commission that investigates the SEPI
Thu 12:24 - El Mundo (ES)
The Government tries to shield the "neatness" of the rescue of Plus Ultra while waiting for the summary of the investigation into Zapatero to be revealed
Thu 15:00 - El Mundo (ES)
The Court blocks the bank accounts of former President Zapatero: sets a limit of 490 thousand euros, the amount collected from Relevant Analysis
Thu 15:07 - El Mundo (ES)
The Ministry of Social Security blesses the Plus Ultra certificate in the 'Zapatero case': "It is compatible to be up to date with payments with having a recognized debt"
Thu 16:17 - El Mundo (ES)
Zapatero, the poster of Ché of Spanish socialism
Thu 20:51 - El Mundo (ES)
His luck ran out: his friends told him be careful
Thu 20:51 - El Mundo (ES)
Zapatero's plan in Dubai: collect from Chinese clients in an opaque company in the Emirates and evade US controls
Thu 21:20 - El Mundo (ES)
Zapatero uploaded 36 invoices to travel to China, Colombia and also to Morocco for "customer acquisition" and "information of interest"
Thu 23:53 - El Mundo (ES)
The Government still does not see "evidence that incriminates Zapatero" nor does it see its "stability" in danger
Fri 20:51 - El Mundo (ES)
Zapatero was "the guarantee" for Venezuelan crude oil in China
Sat 00:49 - El Mundo (ES)
Senior PSOE officials warn of the "atomic bomb" on Sánchez: Zapatero served as de facto Chief of Staff
Sat 12:38 - El Mundo (ES)
Feijóo: "You have to be morally rotten to read Zapatero's order and go out to support him"
Sat 13:32 - El Mundo (ES)
Thousands of people in Madrid demand the resignation of Sánchez and the arrest of Zapatero in a march supported by Vox and PP
Sat 20:36 - El Mundo (ES)
Gertrudis, the "socialist to the core" secretary who "without hesitation" protected her "golden" Zapatero and was Susana Díaz's guarantor in the primaries against Pedro Sánchez
Sat 20:36 - El Mundo (ES)
Zapatero's tricks to operate from the shadows: he used 'Gertru' for false invoices and 'Julito' as a telephone front man
Sat 20:36 - El Mundo (ES)
Sánchez's hard core conspires to resist the judicial siege: "They are going after Pedro. Either he leaves or they are going to kill him politically"
Sat 21:06 - El Mundo (ES)
The corrupt plot managed through the "President Zapatero" email the false invoices, simulated jobs and fictitious consultancies
Sat 21:58 - El Mundo (ES)
The Udef implicates Zapatero in the large-scale sale of Venezuelan oil to Chinese companies thanks to his influence with Delcy
Sat 23:19 - El Mundo (ES)
Zapatero canceled a mortgage suddenly with a transfer of 500,000 euros
Sat 23:19 - El Mundo (ES)
Zapatero, the asset of Caracas
Sun 03:30 - El Pais
Cobbler: Alaska Unlimited
Sun 11:42 - El Mundo (ES)
Esteban pushes Sánchez to advance the elections to 2026 and rejects that Zapatero's accusation is judicial 'lawfare'
Sun 12:48 - El Mundo (ES)
Miguel Tellado on the UDEF report that points to Zapatero: "The rot of 'Sanchismo' has reached even 'Bambi'"
Sun 20:35 - El Mundo (ES)
The last socialist bastions fear the blow of the anti-Sanchez wave
Sun 21:08 - El Mundo (ES)
Zapatero recruited the economic chief of Moncloa as a speaker at an event to attract clients
Sun 23:05 - El Mundo (ES)
The Government gave preference to Plus Ultra in the rescue over 20 other companies that urgently needed help at the same time
Sun 23:05 - El Mundo (ES)
The keys to Zapatero's judicial future: the probable indictment of his daughters and new lines of investigation
Sun 23:05 - El Mundo (ES)
The only written evidence in Relevant Analysis to pay 730,000 euros to the Zapatero family: two-page reports on "artificial intelligence" or "the Feijóo effect deflates"
Sun 23:05 - El Mundo (ES)
Slow agony of the Sanchista PSOE: without votes, without bases, without references
Mon 03:30 - El Pais
The Plus Ultra investigation points to two Venezuelan brothers linked to oil who transferred a million to companies in Zapatero's orbit
Mon 03:30 - El Pais
Zapatero's accounts: 2.6 million in five years in transfers of companies in the focus and Chinese capital
Mon 03:30 - El Pais
Graphics | This is how the Zapatero and Plus Ultra plot worked, according to the judge's order
Mon 07:18 - El Mundo (ES)
One of the accusations asks the judge of the 'Plus Ultra case' to charge Zapatero's wife and daughters
Mon 10:00 - Washington Examiner
Spain’s Zapatero exposed as Maduro’s fixer. Trump must extradite him now