Zapatero demands clarification of how the United States obtained communications from a Plus Ultra shareholder
Counsel said the exchange of information between the United States and Spain raises "reasonable doubts" about respect for procedural guarantees.
Stock image of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Photo: EuropaPress
Former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's defense has called for clarification of "how" the US received communications from Ultra's shareholder Rodolfo Reyes Plus, key to the indictment of the former socialist leader at the National High Court.
In a letter, Zapatero's lawyer, Victor Moreno Catena , expresses his "reasonable doubts" about the authenticity of these communications and questions how they have been obtained, dumped, guarded or accessed, as well as how this information has been exchanged between police bodies "without known judicial intervention".
He has therefore asked the investigator of the Plus Ultra case, Judge José Luis Calama , to extend the request for international legal cooperation made this week to the US authorities to allow such communications to be used "as evidence in Spanish criminal proceedings" and not only as a means of investigation at the investigative stage.
The judge, anticipating requests for annulment by thedefence, took this step to ensurethe "validity" of such communications in a possible trial.
Zapatero's defence has put on the table "legitimate doubts and serious difficulties regarding the conditions for the exercise of the right of defence ",whenthe police action that led to the obtaining of communications from the Venezuelan businessman "has hardly been reported".
The US agency Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) sent WhatsApp messages to the Central Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) of the National Police last March, five years afterthat US government agency obtained them in 2021 in an intervention "initially aimed at smuggling."
According to the judge's order, HSI considered that this material could be "relevant" to the Spanish investigation into the Plus Ultra case, but the defence has stressed that it has "no documentation or information on the matter".
You might like
The Council of Ministers has adopted a new law to prevent drug shortages
After the holidays, this new rule will begin proceedings in the Congress of Deputies so that it can enter into force. In addition to avoiding shortages, the law seeks to increase patient savings through a new pricing system.
The businessman Martínez Martínez presents Zapatero as an intermediary and admits that he received 530,000 euros
According to businessman Julio Martínez Martínez, Zapatero promised to diversify the payment of 1% of the bailout.
President Pradales congratulates the players of the Basque teams who have won the World Cup
The spokeswoman for the Basque Government, Maria Ubarretxena, has stated that she does not know whether Imanol Pradales will receive Basque players.
The transfer agreement has been complicated, according to the Basque Government, because the positions are "far away"
Its spokesman, Maria Ubarretxena, says that at present there are no guarantees for the meeting of the Joint Commission and that significant progress should be made before August before the President and Sanchez can meet.
Berriozabal (PNV): "I do not want anyone to use violence alongside me for the proclamation of the Euskal Selekzioa"
Jone Berriozabal, President of Araba Buru Batzar, who has attended the Euskadi Irratia Faktoria programme, has condemned the incidents surrounding the final of the World Cup Football Championship. He believes that the attacks on supporters of the Spanish team are incompatible with the clamour for the official Euskal Selekzioa.
Businessman Julio Martínez implicates Rodríguez Zapatero in the loan to Plus Ultra
In a letter addressed to the judge of the National High Court, the investigator states that the former president "marked the steps to be taken" in rescuing the airline and admits that he received a 1% commission for mediation.
Judge to question Jessica Rodriguez, former partner of Abalos, for "plugging in" Ineco and Tragsatec
The brother of Koldo García, former adviser to Ábalos, Joseba García, as well as Ignacio Zaldivar, former senior official of Adif, will testify as an investigator.
Andy Burnham takes over the leadership of the British Government on Monday
The former mayor of Manchester will be the seventh prime minister in 10 years to replace Labour's Keir Starmer.
Mayors 50 years ago say that the Basque Country has not yet achieved its objectives
The mayors have recalled the historic day they lived in Bergara in 1976, and have returned to the scene of the event with excitement and enthusiasm, commemorating a milestone in the history of Euskal Herria. They have highlighted the achievements of that time and have been hopeful for the future.
PNV and EH Bildu will remember together in Bergara the creation of the Movement of Mayors and the abolition of the Fueros
200 municipal representatives from both parties will claim recognition of the Basque nation and the right to decide in a symbolic act that will combine past, present and future.