The corruption probe into former Socialist Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero appears set to expand as police have seized hundreds of thousands in cash and jewellery, while reports have emerged indicating that authorities believe the alleged influence peddling extended to oil and gold projects in Venezuela.
Zapatero, who led the country from 2004 to 2011, embroiled his Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) successor’s government in a scandal earlier this month after being indicted for allegedly running an influence peddling and money laundering scheme surrounding the €53 million ($57.2 million) coronavirus-era bailout of the Plus Ultra airliner, of which €1.95 million ($2.11 million) is believed to have gone to the former PM and his allies.
This week, reports emerged indicating that the probe into the influential leftist politician is set to expand significantly. According to a report from national public broadcaster Radiotelevisión Española, the Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) of Spain’s National Police obtained messages between Zapatero’s network and well-connected figures in Caracas with the Socialist dictatorship of former dictator Nicolas Maduro.
The report claimed to have seen evidence indicating that the former Spanish Prime Minister served as an effective go-between to arrange the sale of petcoke from Venezuelan sources to the CCP-tied China International Cultural Technology Resources Group Co., Ltd. A 2023 letter obtained by the broadcaster appeared to indicate that the Chinese firm agreed to purchase the petroleum by-product “in batches of 50,000 tons.”
Current Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez, who was then serving as Maduro’s second in command, was also reportedly involved in the deal, having allegedly signed off on the allocation of the country’s oil tankers to ship the petroleum coke.
Zapatero, who has long faced criticism from the Spanish right over his apparent close ties to the Chavista regime, was also reportedly involved in “the export of gold, sale of QWANT shares, successive transformation into other currencies of euros in cash in Caracas or implementation of a route for the delivery of physical product for an amount of several million.”
Some of the alleged messages cited were said to have been written by Zapatero’s confidant, Julio Martínez Martínez, from whom UDEF police agents reportedly seized 286,000 euros. According to El Mundo, police K-9 units discovered cash hidden throughout his Madrid apartment, including inside his bathroom, and a golf bag.
Meanwhile, police also seized over 100 pieces of jewellery from the safe in the former Prime Minister’s office during a raid on May 19th, including bracelets, chains, earrings, rings, and watches. RTVE reported that a woman who worked at the office told officers that the haul of jewels was merely gained by Zapatero’s wife through inheritance or “travel gifts”. However, at least one of the necklaces appeared to bear the former PM’s name in an engraving.
The emerging scandal has rocked the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who relied on Zapatero as a key political ally in his own rise to the top of Madrid politics. The Sánchez government was already embroiled in scandal, with the socialist leader’s wife already facing charges of influence peddling and embezzlement.
However, the latest accusations seem more likely to threaten the stability of the leftist government, which was already on shaky ground, having maintained power only through a craven deal with Catalan separatist parties after the Socialist Party failed to secure a governing majority in the 2023 elections.
A survey this week from SocioMétrica for the EL ESPAÑOL news site found that 74.3 per cent of voters believe that Prime Minister Sánchez should call for an early election, given the accusations against Zapatero. This is up from 61.5 per cent last year and includes 48.2 per cent of Socialist Party voters.
The poll also found that 70.7 per cent of Spaniards, including 43.7 per cent of socialist voters, believe the party should suspend the former PM’s membership over the alleged influence peddling scheme.
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