Spain's Guardia Civil chief Mercedes González and deputy charged in Leire Díez case

The director of the Guardia Civil, Mercedes González, and the deputy chief of operations, Lieutenant General Manuel Llamas, have been formally charged by the Audiencia Nacional judge Santiago Pedraz with continuous administrative prevarication and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors allege the two opened three internal “informaciones reservadas” on 4 December 2024, 12 May 2025 and 1 September 2025 after a series of meetings with former socialist activist Leire Díez (30 Nov 2024, 20 Dec 2024 and 2 Apr 2025). The investigations suggest the IRs were used to pressure the Unidad Central Operativa (UCO) – the police unit handling sensitive investigations involving the PSOE – and to intimidate agents probing a alleged “cloaca” linked to the ruling party.

Interior minister Fernando Grande‑Marlaska maintains the IRs were routine, but anticorruption prosecutors argue they constituted an illegal means of influence. The judge has ordered both González and Llamas to appear for testimony in July and has also instructed the handing over of a recorder used in a related investigation. The case, dubbed the “PSOE cloaca” scandal, continues to draw scrutiny from political parties and the public.

The indictment follows earlier parliamentary testimonies in which González denied any collusion with Díez and the UCO’s former head, Rafael Yuste, testified that no pressure was felt, despite the prosecutor’s view to the contrary.