Enrique Santiago, parliamentary spokesperson for IU and deputy for Sumar in Congress, has accused the United States of having provided information about former President of the Government José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, indicted last Tuesday by the National Court in the framework of the Plus Ultra case.
According to his explanation, the Donald Trump administration would have as its objective "to cause a political crisis in the Government of Spain" and "to punish those who may have worked to evade the illegal sanctions unilaterally imposed by the United States on Venezuela".
In an interview on "La hora de La 1" on TVE, reported by Europa Press, the IU leader pointed out that "it is not very normal for the United States to make recordings available" that they do not know "where they were obtained from" nor that they "worry so much about Zapatero" but not "about the 'lobby' that other former presidents do".
Enrique Santiago has denounced that Washington's tactic consists of "turning what are attempts at political interference in the sovereignty of other States into judicial cases".
"What we find surprising is that information from United States agencies is being used, supposedly with judicial scope," he insisted later in statements in Congress.
He recalled that the Donald Trump administration did something similar with former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom they tried to bring to justice in New York, and that as soon as the case arrived, the Prosecutor's Office acknowledged that the Cartel of the Suns, with which he was linked, did not actually exist. "And we have seen the same regarding the indictment of Raúl Castro, who, by the way, has no responsibility in Cuba right now, but is a retired person," he added.
In this context, he has focused on the fact that Judge Calama's order includes data from a US security agency "that no one knows how it was obtained," without clarifying whether or not there was a "judicial mandate," in what territory it would have been collected, or if "the chain of custody has been preserved." "In other words, zero credibility to the security institutions of the United States," he concluded.
No evidence against the Government in the Plus Ultra case
The Sumar deputy stressed that in the order by which former President Zapatero is indicted, "nowhere" is "any alleged responsibility of the current Government" appreciated.
Santiago has admitted that "the order presents very clear indications in some alleged cases" that affect the former socialist president, but has specified that, regarding misappropriation or money laundering, he does not observe "absolutely anything".
However, the head of IU has admitted that "there do seem to be political responsibilities or actions that are more than questionable" from an ethical point of view, as "public resources" may have been used which "cannot be reconciled with carrying out lucrative activities".
Along these lines, he has warned that there are behaviors that "do not have to be illegal, but that are politically devastating" and has railed against "the excessive desire for personal profit".
"It is not ethical, lawful, nor politically acceptable for there to be people who mix political and institutional responsibilities with personal profit. Obtaining profit for oneself or for a third party by using influence with the public administration of our country is a crime, and we ask that all of this be investigated to the end," he stated to the media in Congress.
When asked about the stance the minority partner of the Executive would adopt if ministries or high-ranking officials were ultimately implicated, he was emphatic: "We are absolutely incompatible with maintaining a government that is involved in corruption problems. But, at the moment, that is not the case, not by a long shot."
Calm for now and a call to strengthen control
"I, reading the order, have been calm for now. Because the order is concrete in that regard. It makes references to high-ranking officials and dismisses the possibility that they have had any kind of role in these matters," he added, emphasizing that, in any case, if the investigation "reveals responsibilities of the public administration, they would correspond to a government that no longer exists."
The parliamentary spokesperson for IU has reiterated the urgency of approving an anti-corruption package of measures and recalled that Sumar tried to promote it following the case of Santos Cerdán, but that the initiative remains blocked "due to a lack of will from the PSOE."
Likewise, he has criticized the PP and Vox for their criticism of corruption, recalling that it was their votes, along with those of Junts, that halted the creation of the Anti-Corruption Agency promoted by Sumar. "They are not interested in having effective mechanisms against corruption," he concluded.