The corruption of a few will not impede the work we are doing
Leaked messages show Díez claimed her role was to 'clean' investigations and protect Sánchez's interests, allegedly coordinating with judicial officials to halt probes into the president and his circle. The scheme allegedly involved meetings with Guardia Civil leadership, including director Mercedes González, and cost the PSOE over €180,000 to maintain, raising serious questions about judicial independence.
- Leire Díez, former PSOE adviser, allegedly orchestrated a scheme to obstruct investigations into Sánchez and his family
- The PSOE spent over €180,000 to finance the alleged operation
- Díez met at least three times with Mercedes González, current director-general of the Guardia Civil
- Former Guardia Civil director Leonardo Marcos allegedly ordered the UCO to investigate David Sánchez only in a 'sideways' manner
- Spanish elections are scheduled for roughly one year away
Leire Díez, a former PSOE advisor, is accused of orchestrating a scheme to interfere with judicial investigations into Pedro Sánchez and his family, with leaked messages revealing attempts to discredit investigators and obstruct justice.
Two years ago, Leire Díez was a quiet party operative within Spain's Socialist movement. This week, she became the face of an allegation that could reshape the political landscape: that she orchestrated a systematic effort to obstruct judicial investigations into Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his family.
On Wednesday, private messages and audio recordings attributed to the former PSOE adviser surfaced publicly. In them, Díez described her role with striking clarity: to "clean" the investigations surrounding Sánchez, to neutralize the controversies engulfing his wife Begoña Gómez and his brother David, and to protect what she called "the president's interests." She referred to Sánchez in coded language as "one"—the same term used by businessman Víctor de Aldama, a figure in the Koldo corruption case, who testified that Sánchez was "number one" and allegedly led a "criminal organization." In one message, Díez wrote that "one" had told her through Socialist Organization secretary Santos Cerdán that she was doing "great work" and should not lose heart.
The alleged scheme targeted Spain's Guardia Civil's Central Operational Unit, or UCO, the body investigating the president and his circle. According to the leaked materials, Díez worked to gather compromising information about UCO leaders—information she could use to coerce them into abandoning their cases or to undermine their credibility. The Socialist Party, investigators believe, financed this operation to the tune of more than 180,000 euros. Díez was eventually expelled from the party, but the damage to its image was already spreading.
On Friday, facing mounting pressure from opposition lawmakers and dissident Socialists, Sánchez broke his silence. He denied any knowledge of Díez's activities and insisted he would never have tolerated interference with the courts. "My government is a clean government and my party is an honorable party," he said. "The corruption of a few will not impede or harm the enormous work this government and the PSOE are doing in this country." Yet the statement did little to quiet the storm. With Spanish elections roughly a year away, Sánchez has proven unable to contain a succession of scandals touching his inner circle. Some within his own party fear another electoral defeat, especially with the conservative Popular Party leading in polls.
The investigation has exposed a web of meetings and relationships that raise serious questions about judicial independence. Díez met repeatedly with Mercedes González, the current director-general of the Guardia Civil, who previously held a senior position in the Socialist Party in Madrid. The two women met at least three times, and Díez described González as someone she could "totally trust." When the Guardia Civil acknowledged the meetings on Thursday—contradicting the Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who had denied they occurred at all—it created a new crisis. González said she had refused Díez's request to reinstate a police commander implicated in the Koldo scandal, and that she never discussed any scheme to obstruct investigations. But the contradictions between her account and the minister's initial denial have left questions unanswered. Grande-Marlaska said he would consider removing González if new evidence emerged showing she had concealed meetings related to the investigations.
More damaging still are the allegations involving Leonardo Marcos, the Guardia Civil's former director-general between 2023 and 2024. According to documents reviewed by Spain's state broadcaster RTVE, Marcos allegedly ordered the UCO to investigate David Sánchez—the president's brother, now on trial for influence-peddling and abuse of office—only in a "sideways" manner, not proactively. Marcos reportedly called the case against the president's brother "malicious" and expressed anger about it in meetings with his deputy. If proven, this would mean Díez's alleged network succeeded in interfering with justice to protect the president's family.
The Guardia Civil's professional association issued a statement demanding maximum institutional transparency, warning that in a rule-of-law state, police independence is essential and any interference with judicial investigations must be rigorously examined. Even party president Cristina Narbona, a former environment minister, was drawn into the scandal. She admitted knowing Díez and exchanging messages with her about protecting Sánchez's image, though she denied receiving confidential information directly. The Public Ministry has formally asked the judge to call Narbona to testify. The PSOE's response has been to insist it is cooperating fully with authorities and to distance itself from what it calls "a few corrupt individuals." But with elections approaching and the legal consequences still unfolding, the party faces a test of whether that strategy can hold.
Citas Notables
I have to protect the president's interests— Leire Díez, in leaked messages
Obviously, the intention of all this is to clean. We cannot have people like this in institutions— Leire Díez, in leaked messages
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
What made Leire Díez's role different from ordinary political communications work?
She wasn't managing a message or crafting a narrative. The messages show she was actively trying to obtain dirt on the investigators themselves—to find leverage against the people conducting the probes. That's not spin. That's obstruction.
Did Sánchez know what she was doing?
He says no. But the coded language—calling him "one," the messages about him praising her work—suggests at minimum that people close to him understood what was happening and approved. Whether that reaches Sánchez himself is what the courts will have to determine.
Why does Mercedes González's role matter so much?
Because she runs the Guardia Civil. If the director-general is meeting with someone trying to obstruct investigations into the prime minister, that's not a scandal about one operative. That's a scandal about whether the institution itself has been compromised.
The minister said he didn't know about the meetings. Then the Guardia Civil said there were meetings. What does that tell you?
Either the minister wasn't told by his own director-general, which raises questions about control, or he was told and misled Parliament, which is worse. Neither option is good.
How much of this actually touches Sánchez directly?
That's the open question. The scheme was allegedly run in his name, financed by his party, and involved people in his government. But proving he ordered it or even knew the details—that's what the investigation has to show. Right now it's a network around him, not necessarily him at the center.
What happens next?
The courts will call witnesses, including the party president. They'll examine financial records, communications, and testimony from the Guardia Civil officials involved. And Sánchez has to govern while all of this unfolds, with elections a year away.