# Scrutiny of Sofía Puente regarding Spanish nationality cases > Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/scrutiny-of-sofa-puente-regarding-spanish-nationality-cases > Updated: 2026-09-26T21:06:30.000Z. Sources: 7. Developments: 2. Sofía Puente, former Director General of Legal Certainty and Public Faith at the Spanish Ministry of Justice, has come under scrutiny regarding her handling of nationality applications. Initial reports highlighted a significant increase in the denial of Spanish nationality applications for Sephardic Jews during her tenure. Following a January 2020 instruction that tightened evidentiary requirements, denial rates rose sharply from nearly 0.04% to approximately 7,000 denials, leading to increased legal litigation. Subsequent investigations by the Civil Guard’s Central Operative Unit (UCO) and Judge Santiago Pedraz have focused on the nationality application of former Venezuelan Vice Minister Nervis Villalobos. While investigations examine a suspected criminal network involving activist Leire Díez, who allegedly sought to influence sensitive judicial files, UCO documents indicate that Puente explicitly ordered the denial of Villalobos’s nationality in July 2020 following police reports on the applicant’s background. ## Timeline ### 2026-09-26: Sofía Puente scrutinized over Venezuelan nationality case The Civil Guard's UCO is investigating whether a network involving Leire Díez attempted to influence the Spanish nationality process of Venezuelan ex-official Nervis Villalobos through Ministry of Justice links 5 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/sofa-puente-scrutinized-over-venezuelan-nationality-case ### 2026-09-15: Sofía Puente faced scrutiny over Sephardic nationality denials Sofía Puente, a high-ranking official at Spain's Ministry of Justice, oversaw a period where approximately 7,000 Sephardic Jewish nationality applications were denied due to stricter evidentiary requirements. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/sofa-puente-faced-scrutiny-over-sephardic-nationality-denials --- Cite as: Scrutiny of Sofía Puente regarding Spanish nationality cases. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/scrutiny-of-sofa-puente-regarding-spanish-nationality-cases