He pursues crimes, not people, indifferent to who stands accused.
En los pasillos de la Audiencia Nacional, donde los casos llegan cargados de historia y de poder, un magistrado conocido por seguir la evidencia sin importar quién la acompañe ha tomado declaración por primera vez a un expresidente del Gobierno. José Luis Calama, juez de trayectoria discreta y reputación sólida, ha imputado a José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero en el marco del caso Plus Ultra, una investigación sobre operaciones petroleras venezolanas. No es un hito que él buscara; es, simplemente, adonde lo llevó la instrucción.
- Un expresidente de España ha sido imputado por primera vez en una causa penal activa, lo que sacude los límites no escritos de la inmunidad política informal.
- Zapatero tenía un vuelo privado a Caracas el mismo día en que la citación judicial llegó a su domicilio, firmada de su puño y letra horas antes del despegue.
- El caso Plus Ultra apunta a que compradores de petróleo venezolano habrían necesitado la intermediación de Zapatero para cerrar operaciones, una acusación de alcance económico y geopolítico.
- Calama, con veinte años de historial que incluye archivos polémicos y causas de gran complejidad técnica, llega a esta decisión respaldado por una reputación de imparcialidad difícil de cuestionar.
- La imputación no es el final del proceso, pero marca una trayectoria: la investigación avanza hacia la figura de quien gobernó España entre 2004 y 2011.
José Luis Calama llegó a la Audiencia Nacional en 2018 tras dos décadas en un juzgado de instrucción de Madrid, donde construyó un perfil poco llamativo y muy consistente. Archivó causas cuando la evidencia no las sostenía —el caso del marido de Manuela Carmena, la investigación sobre Concepción Dancausa en el asunto Mercamadrid— y las mantuvo abiertas cuando sí lo hacía. Quienes lo conocen lo describen como un juez que persigue delitos, no personas.
En la Audiencia, los asuntos no han sido más sencillos. Instruyó el caso Pegasus, el espionaje con software israelí a miembros del Gobierno español, y documentó sin rodeos la impotencia investigadora ante el silencio de Israel. Cuando el gran apagón paralizó España, abrió diligencias en horas y las cerró con igual rapidez al no hallar indicios de terrorismo ni sabotaje. Una macroestafa en criptomonedas con 32.000 afectados y pérdidas cercanas a los 200 millones de euros también pasó por su mesa.
El martes de esta semana, Zapatero tenía previsto volar a Caracas en un vuelo privado de Air Europa con salida a las 16:10. La citación judicial le llegó esa misma mañana, a su domicilio, y la firmó. El caso Plus Ultra investiga operaciones de compraventa de petróleo venezolano en las que, según la instrucción, los compradores habrían necesitado pasar por Zapatero para cerrar los tratos.
Calama tomó su declaración como imputado. Es la primera vez en su carrera que indicia a un expresidente del Gobierno. No es un hito que persiguiera. Es donde lo llevó la investigación.
José Luis Calama did not expect this when he arrived at the National Court in 2018. He came from two decades running a Madrid instruction court, solid work, unremarkable in the way that careful judges are unremarkable. But on Tuesday of this week, he sat across from a former president of Spain and took his statement as an accused person. His hand did not shake.
Calama is the kind of magistrate who pursues crimes, not people. Those who know him say he is unmoved by spectacle unless the evidence supports it. He does not seek the spotlight. He does not bend to pressure. He follows the law where it leads, indifferent to who stands on the other side of the table.
His record bears this out. In Madrid, he dismissed the case against the husband of the city's former mayor, Manuela Carmena, on labor law charges. He closed the investigation into Concepción Dancausa, the former government delegate in Madrid, in what became known as the Mercamadrid case. He handled the inquiry into three workers accused in the 2001 Palacio de los Deportes fire. None of these decisions were easy or popular. All of them were grounded in what the evidence showed.
At the National Court, where he now sits as judge of the Central 4 chamber, the cases have not grown simpler. The Pegasus investigation landed on his desk—the matter of Israeli spyware infecting the phones of the Spanish president and three of his ministers. Calama did not hesitate to document what he called investigative impotence when the Israeli government refused to respond to his formal requests for information. He named the problem plainly. He did not accept silence as an answer.
When the great blackout struck Spain, Calama was on duty. Within hours he opened an investigation to determine whether sabotage or cyberattack lay behind it. He gathered the necessary reports and, in unusual speed for a court where cases tend to calcify, he closed the file. No minimum indication of terrorism existed, he determined. No evidence of attack. He moved on.
He has shown himself capable in the thickets of economic crime. A cryptocurrency fraud case crossed his desk involving 32,000 investors and losses of roughly 200 million euros between 2019 and 2020—the kind of sprawling, technical investigation that breaks lesser judges. He worked through it. Those who deal with him regularly describe him as prudent, effective, and deeply discreet. He does not perform. He investigates.
Zapatero had a ticket to Caracas on Tuesday afternoon, Air Europa, departure at 4:10 p.m., marked as private business. The citation reached him early that morning, delivered by hand. He signed it at his home. The Plus Ultra case involves Venezuelan oil dealings, the kind of transaction where, according to the investigation, buyers of Venezuelan petroleum needed to pass through Zapatero to close the deal. This is what brought him before Calama. Not his history. Not his office. The evidence.
For the first time in his career, Calama has indicted a former head of government. It is not a distinction he sought. It is simply where the investigation led.
Notable Quotes
Calama called the Israeli government's refusal to respond to his formal requests an 'investigative impotence'— Judge Calama, in the Pegasus case
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter that Calama is described as someone who doesn't seek the spotlight?
Because judges operate under pressure—political, media, social. A judge who craves attention tends to perform for it. Calama's disinterest in the spotlight suggests he's actually following the evidence rather than the narrative.
But indicting a former president is inherently political, isn't it?
Only if you assume the indictment came first and the evidence second. Calama's history suggests the opposite. He dismissed cases against people connected to powerful mayors. He closed the blackout investigation quickly when the facts didn't support conspiracy. He's shown he'll go either direction.
What does it tell us that Zapatero had a flight to Caracas scheduled?
It suggests the investigation was moving faster than expected, or that Zapatero didn't anticipate being cited. The timing matters—it shows the court didn't give him a courtesy warning.
Is there a pattern in Calama's other cases that predicts how he'll handle this one?
He's thorough but not theatrical. He gathers what he needs, makes a decision, and moves forward. He doesn't let cases languish. He also doesn't invent crimes where evidence doesn't exist. Whatever comes next, it will be methodical.
Why mention that he worked in Madrid for twenty years before the National Court?
Because the National Court is where political cases live. It's the most visible, most pressured court in Spain. Sending someone there without a foundation in careful, unglamorous work would be dangerous. Calama had already proven he could handle difficult cases without being corrupted by their importance.