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Spain's National Court has indicted former socialist prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero...
Spain's National Court on Tuesday indicted former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero on charges of money laundering, influence peddling and other criminal offenses committed in connection with the 53 million euro financial rescue package for the airline Plus Ultra.
In a statement, the Court confirmed that officers from the Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit of the National Police had searched the former prime minister's offices and that they would also conduct searches in buildings belonging to three unidentified companies. The Court has ordered the former Socialist Party leader to testify on June 2.
Zapatero has consistently denied receiving payments from Plus Ultra or committing any wrongdoing.
The indictment is a major blow to current Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who is facing a series of defeats in key regional elections. Although the former Socialist leader, who led Spain from 2004 to 2011, was not initially one of Sánchez's main supporters, he has become an important ally in recent years.
During Spain’s 2023 national elections, Zapatero campaigned enthusiastically in support of Sánchez. His support was crucial in the wake of Sánchez’s disastrous performance in televised debates, which had led many to question the prime minister’s ability to remain in power. In the end, he helped mobilize the socialist “old guard,” which had long been skeptical of Sánchez.
The indictment against Zapatero is considered unprecedented.
Although other Spanish prime ministers have been called to testify in corruption cases before, this is the first time a former head of Spanish government has been accused of such a serious crime. The development comes after several other corruption cases involving senior figures in the Socialist Party, including former Minister of Public Works and Transport José Luis Ábalos, another long-time Sánchez ally.
The investigation against the former prime minister is related to the 2021 state package to rescue Plus Ultra Airlines, one of the companies that Madrid considered strategically important to deserve economic support during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Because the airline, which operates flights between Spain and Latin America, was suspected of having links to the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, authorities launched an investigation to verify whether part of the bailout funds had ended up in the wrong hands.
After the Public Prosecutor's Office concluded that there was no evidence of a crime, a judge in Madrid ordered the case closed in 2023. But in December last year, Spanish police raided the airline's headquarters and arrested its president, Julio Martínez, on suspicion of money laundering.
During a hearing in the Spanish Senate earlier this year, Zapatero admitted that over several years he had received 463,000 euros for “written and oral consultancy services” for the company Análisis Relevante, owned by Martínez, whom he described as a “friend.” He also stated that he had not carried out any work on behalf of Plus Ultra.
Spain's main opposition party, the center-right Popular Party, used the indictment against Zapatero to attack Sánchez.
“The principle that links the last two socialist prime ministers of Spain is corruption,” the party declared. “Both have damaged the institution they represent or have represented.”
However, the Socialist Party's organizational secretary, Rebeca Torró, came to the defense of the former head of government and suggested that the indictment was politically motivated.
“José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was prime minister for two terms marked by an ambitious program to expand rights, equality and social protection,” she wrote on the X platform. “The right and the far right have never forgiven him for these achievements.”
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