The National Court resumed this Monday the trial on the Kitchen with the key testimony of the chief inspector who led the investigation and whose reports support the accusation against the former leadership of the Ministry of Interior of the former President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy. In his testimony, the investigator has identified Rajoy as the person to whom those involved referred with the aliases of “The Asturian” and “The Beards”.
According to what has been explained, this conclusion is based on documents, audios and intercepted notes during the investigation. In them, the “Asturian” was attributed the ability to dismiss high-ranking police officials, a fact that, together with other evidence, allowed linking that nickname with the then president of the Government.
The agent has also pointed out a conversation of the former commissioner José Manuel Villarejo with a journalist, in which he explained “in a superficial way” the operation and explicitly stated that “Asturiano” was the nickname used to refer to Rajoy.
Other names of the plot
During his statement, the investigator has detailed other code names used in the alleged parapolice operation. Thus, he has assured “undoubtedly” that “Xisco” corresponded to Francisco Martínez, former Secretary of State for Security.
In addition, he has detailed that in the analyzed documentation “N1” referred to the Minister of the Interior —a position held by Jorge Fernández Díaz— and “N2” to the Secretary of State. Other aliases such as “Pin” would allude to Eugenio Pino, then number two of the Police, while “Big” would identify Enrique García Castaño, already out of the process due to illness.
Recruitment of the driver and payments for espionage
The witness has also described how the recruitment of Sergio Ríos, chauffeur of the Bárcenas family, to collaborate in the operation, took place. According to the evidence gathered, Ríos would have received payments in exchange for spying on Luis Bárcenas and his surroundings, in an operation aimed at extracting sensitive information.
The statement thus reinforces the prosecution's thesis about the existence of an organized structure within the State apparatus to carry out espionage work outside judicial channels, one of the central axes of the Kitchen case.
During his statement, the investigator has detailed how the recruitment of Sergio Ríos occurred. According to the evidence, the first recruitment attempt was carried out by Enrique García Castaño, although it failed due to the initial reluctance of Ríos himself.
The definitive approach came after the hand of former commissioner José Manuel Villarejo, who, according to the testimony, used as intermediaries Andrés Gómez Gordo, with a previous relationship with the driver, and Ignacio López del Hierro, husband of María Dolores de Cospedal. This second attempt culminated successfully and allowed Ríos to be incorporated into the operation.
The agent has also explained the origin of the name “Kitchen”, attributed to Villarejo associating the driver with a famous cook, which led to the use of terms like “coci” or “cook” in internal communications.
Payments with reserved funds and access to the Police
According to the investigation, Ríos's collaboration was rewarded with payments from reserved funds, facts that, according to the agent, are reflected in receipts and pay slips found at Villarejo's home.
Furthermore, the investigator has pointed out that his incorporation into the National Police was part of the considerations. In an audio provided to the case, Villarejo warns that it was a “weak point to leave Ríos loose” and proposes to turn him into an agent to “have him controlled”.
The seized documentation even includes the payment of the examination fees, after which Ríos joined the force. A later message from Gómez Gordo to Francisco Martínez confirmed: “coci has passed”.
The search of Rosalía Iglesias's premises
The testimony has also addressed the plot's interest in the environment of Rosalía Iglesias, wife of Luis Bárcenas. After the declassification of documents in 2018, material was accessed that reflected tasks of surveillance and monitoring typical of a police operation.
Among these documents is the search of premises on General Díaz Porlier street in Madrid, used by Iglesias and considered relevant because the investigated believed that sensitive information could be stored there. Among the objectives, according to the agent, was a pendrive with recordings, among them an alleged conversation of Mariano Rajoy with Javier Arenas.
Likewise, the investigator has pointed out that in October 2013 there was a data extraction from Bárcenas's phones, provided by Sergio Ríos himself, which reinforces the thesis that the driver played a central role in accessing information from the former treasurer.
Villarejo reported to “Xisco” and the judge points to a control from Interior
The head of the investigation stated in his declaration that the former commissioner José Manuel Villarejo reported mainly to the former Secretary of State for Security, Francisco Martínez, and to a lesser extent to the then operational deputy director of the Police, Eugenio Pino.
According to the agent, the analyzed documentation points to the existence of a “real-time control” over the movements of Luis Bárcenas during his stay in prison. As an example, he cited the former treasurer's maneuver to try to access certain files from outside the prison through another inmate.
In that context, a handwritten note was seized from a prisoner, identified as Isidro Sánchez, in which one could read: “all of M.R.'s audios must be destroyed when I give you the order”. The investigator has stressed that all this information appeared collected “with hairs and signs” in Villarejo's diaries and in the communications addressed to his superiors.
In his opinion, these elements reinforce the idea of a “coordinated action within the scope of the Ministry of Interior”, beyond isolated initiatives.
Villarejo defends the legality of the operation
Before the start of the session, Villarejo himself defended before the media that Operation Kitchen was “lawful” and was framed within the usual practice of the security forces.
"Police operations begin because they are preventive. None begin with judicial authorization," he stated, arguing that first an investigation is carried out and only when there are indications of a crime is the case transferred to the judicial authority.
The former commissioner has insisted that, if prior authorization were required for each check, the courts would be “much more collapsed”, thus vindicating the procedure followed in this case.
Cosidó and the police high command, among the key witnesses of the week in the Kitchen case
The trial of the Kitchen case faces a decisive week with the testimony of several high-level witnesses. Among them stands out the former director general of the Police and former senator, Ignacio Cosidó, whose appearance is scheduled for this Tuesday.
That same day, Commissioner Enrique Barón, who directed the General Information Police Station between 2012 and 2017, and Mariano Hervás, who was number two to Enrique García Castaño, will also testify. Barón has already maintained in previous appearances that he was not informed of the use of resources from his own police station in this operation, while Hervás came to acknowledge in Congress the surveillance of Luis Bárcenas and his wife, Rosalía Iglesias.
After new statements from police officers on Wednesday, Thursday's session will focus on the testimonies of key figures in the public dissemination of the case. The former director of El Mundo, Francisco Rosell, and the journalist Esteban Urreiztieta, one of the first to publish information about the alleged espionage operation, will appear.
Also attending the court will be the director of the Soto del Real prison and his predecessor, as well as the notary before whom Francisco Martínez registered the messages he exchanged with the former Minister of the Interior Jorge Fernández Díaz, considered decisive in the case.