💰 Corruption probe eats the PSOE

Madrid | Issue #149

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Could it get worse?

👨🏻‍⚖️ Criminal investigation into ex-PM Zapatero blows up — and sets the government wobbling

Boom! It's Zapatero Investigation 2: Electric Boogaloo. That corruption investigation into the role that José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (aka ZP), the former prime minister and BFF of current PM Pedro Sánchez, played in the dodgy bailout of a Venezuela-focused airline that we featured last week has gone 💥, and we are here to tell the tale.

• A quick recap. Last week, we explained how Zapatero (possibly one of the most symbolically important figures in Spain’s socialist party) is now officially under criminal investigation in a sprawling corruption and money laundering probe linked to the controversial €53m government rescue of airline Plus Ultra during the pandemic.

Now it gets interesting. The case file — known as the sumario — became public this week, releasing gobs of salacious details. And then other investigations piled on. Let us count the ways.

• Jewelry 💎. A search of ZP's office turned up a safe containing two hard drives (yawn…but maybe useful!) and a pile of jewelry that his assistants claimed came from his wife's family inheritance and gifts received while traveling. Friends of ZP said the value of the bling was €30,000-50,000, while a jeweler interviewed by El Español said they could go as high as €3.9m. 🤔

• Money 💰. A police search of the house of Julio Martínez Martínez, a close personal friend and running buddy of ZP who has, um, paid ZP a lot in recent years, turned up €286,000 in cash stuffed in a golf bag, a radiator, and various other amusing hiding spots. 🤔 Again.

Cool nicknames and mafia shoutouts. Text messages from telephones seized as evidence from a lawyer implicated in the corruption case referred to Zapatero as ‘Zorro’, ‘Z’, and ‘ZZZZ’ (we wish we had such cool nicknames). And according to the legal filings, onetime Plus Ultra owner Rodolfo Reyes was so enamored of Zapatero’s ability to influence both the Spanish and Venezuelan governments that he said “Zapatero is in charge here” months before the bailout.

• Money for the kids, too? The UDEF (Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit) of the National Police said that ZP's daughters, Alba and Laura Rodríguez, accepted payments for their dad, via their marketing agency Whatthefav (do explain the name!), to cover his alleged influence peddling.

Terrible timing. The expansion of the investigation lands at the worst possible moment for PM Sánchez’s government, which is already battered by years of scandals, judicial drama, and political exhaustion.

• They're shooting us! One Socialist figure summed it up for El País — first "they” shot the government in the legs, then the arms, and now they’ve gone “for the heart,” meaning Zapatero himself.

• Going down with the ship (or taking it down with him). Sánchez, however, is still defending Zapatero and insists he will remain in power until 2027. As you can imagine, the opposition believes the scandal is the coup de grâce for Sánchez.

• The call is coming from inside the house. Even former PSOE PM Felipe González says Spain should hold a general election “this year” to avoid further damaging the party. (Though González gave a backhand backing to Zapatero's innocence claims: he said he didn't think ZP had the "capacity” to put together a complicated money laundering ring. Ouch! But thanks.)

Shocked! Zapatero is allegedly “surprised” by the accusations. And — shocker! — he denies everything and says he can't be held responsible for the deeds of his longtime friend Martínez, now one of the key figures in the case.

• ZP will speak. His legal team requested a postponement to review the case file. He's now expected to testify June 17 and 18.

How did we get here? The investigation itself actually began far away from domestic politics. In 2024, authorities in Switzerland and France alerted Spanish prosecutors about a sophisticated money laundering network, tied to Spain, that was allegedly used to move skimmed Venezuelan money through shell companies and offshore accounts connecting Latin America, Europe, and tax havens.

• Venezuelan money trail! Some of those operations were allegedly linked to businessmen suspected of laundering money tied to Nicolás Maduro’s government. While investigating that network, authorities came across possible connections between the Plus Ultra bailout, ZP buddy Martínez, and others linked to Zapatero.

And now we wait. Over the next few weeks, this country will be treated to what promises to be a deadly mix of leaks, court appearances, political hysteria, and television shouting matches.

• Somewhere in the middle of all this, Sánchez will claim that things are perfectly normal while his administration appears to be held together with duct tape. 🥳

More news below. 👇👇

💬 Five things to discuss at dinner parties

1. ⚽ Spain names its World Cup team and the star is… the King? (Oh, and controversy too!)

You can’t watch the announcement video of the Spanish World Cup team (above) and not get a tiny bit emotional. Spain may have no greater skill than its tear-jerking nostalgia videos about fraternity and working together (seriously, watch a few ads for the El Gordo lottery).

• But that’s not the point. What is? That King Felipe VI (F6) starred in the announcement of the 26 members of this year’s World Cup team, and there is controversy. Because that’s what soccer football’s about!

And the winner is… After a bait-and-switch — coach Luis de la Fuente appears, apologizes, and says he won’t be announcing the team after all — F6 took over, walking onto the pitch at Las Rozas to explain that the squad belongs to everyone — “to those who wake before the sun, who work the sea, who deliver the goods” — before closing with: “This is the list of an entire country. This is the list of Spain.”

• Normies. Then ordinary Spaniards — bakers, fishermen, librarians — read the names out one by one. Previous announcement videos featured Antonio Banderas, Ricky Rubio, and Carolina Marín. F6 has raised the bar kingly.

• Fun fact! The filming took over two hours in Madrid’s sweltering heat — and happened to fall on May 22, the King and Queen’s 22nd wedding anniversary. Queen Letizia advised behind the scenes. Romantic!

The squad:

• 🧤 Keepers: Unai Simón, David Raya, Joan García

• 🛡️ Defense: Cucurella, Grimaldo, Cubarsí, Laporte, Pubill, Eric García, Llorente, Porro

• ⚙️ Midfield: Rodri, Pedri, Gavi, Zubimendi, Fabián, Baena, Merino

• ⚡ Attack: Oyarzabal, Olmo, Nico Williams, Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres, Borja Iglesias, Yeremy Pino, Víctor Muñoz

The controversy. For the first time in Spanish World Cup history, not a single Real Madrid player made the squad.

• Spanishification 🇪🇸. Enter Enrique Riquelme, who’s challenging Florentino Pérez for the Real Madrid presidency on June 7 and is promising the “Españolización” of the club: “If I become president, there will be a Real Madrid player who’s played the World Cup with Spain.”

Fun fact #2. Spain has 3 Atlético de Madrid players in its squad. Argentina has 7. The Colchoneros: proud to serve… Buenos Aires!

• In other Spanish football news, Alexia Putellas is leaving FC Barcelona after 14 years — two Ballons d’Or, 38 titles, 504 games, 232 goals, and a fourth Champions League clinched just days ago. She titled her farewell video Una historia perfecta. She was not wrong. London reportedly awaits La Reina.

2. 👮 Welcome home! Flotilla protesters beaten on their return to Spain

Cruel irony alert! The group of Spanish pro-Palestine protestors who’d participated in a flotilla bringing symbolic aid to Gaza had already had a tough time before their welcome home:

• They and their flotilla compatriots had been intercepted and detained by Israel, in whose custody they were reportedly abused, tortured, and demeaned — and some say sexually harassed.

• Condemnation. Amnesty International demanded justice, the U.K. Foreign Office condemned the actions, and Canada’s PM Mark Carney spoke to the Israeli president about the ‘appalling treatment’.

Then the Spanish protestors arrived back in Bilbao — and the regional police opened another can of whoopass on them.

• Moments after the six activists deplaned, what was meant to be a kind of hero’s welcome home devolved into a brawl, replete with baton smacks and handcuffed returnees.

What the hell happened? The six activists arrived at Bilbao’s Loiu airport on Saturday to find roughly 40 supporters waiting.

• The gathering was unannounced, but an agreement had reportedly been reached between the Ertzaintza (regional Basque police) and flotilla representatives by midday: there would be an orderly welcome, a traditional aurresku dance, and no blocking of other passengers. Twenty-five officers were deployed. It held — briefly.

The ETA twist. According to airport CCTV footage shown to the Basque Parliament, the spark was struck by a former ETA militant, one Oses Carrasco, who pushed the lead officer at 1:49 p.m., then grabbed and yanked a second. That was the match.

• Also present in the crowd: Itziar Moreno Martínez, another former ETA member, convicted of the attempted murder of a French gendarme.

Within seconds, batons were out, people were on the ground, and four were in handcuffs.

The other version. The activists flatly deny any provocation. Lawyer Sandra Garrido called the incident “absolutely constructed” by the Basque police — and said “we were broken more here than in Israel,” because, unlike the assault at sea, they weren’t mentally prepared for it at home in Spain.

• Amnesty International called it an “excessive use of force,” saying the images showed “no legitimate cause” — especially for baton strikes on people already on the ground.

The fallout. Basque Security Councillor Bingen Zupiria (PNV) took responsibility for the operation on Sunday, saying what happened “should not have happened” — and that those who “provoked” the Ertzaintza response would be investigated.

• A triple investigation is underway by internal affairs, an external police oversight body, and the courts.

• Trolling. The Israeli Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, posted on X, calling the detainees “anarchists” and mocking that they were driving the Spanish police “crazy”.

They weren’t so wrong about that part.

3. 📻 Two radio stars who narrated Spain just ended an era

Streaming killed the radio star. Sad news for those of you who (for some reason) are into AM radio. In the span of days, Àngels Barceló and Carlos Alsina, the two voices that have basically narrated Spain’s mornings for years, announced they’re stepping away from the most high-pressure part of their shows.

• Absolute shock. Barceló is leaving the Cadena SER station entirely after 21 years, while Alsina is “self-relegating” from the political 8 a.m. news grind on Onda Cero station to focus on the more featur-y second half of his show, Más de uno. If you care about news and politics, this is seismic.

Not hard to see why. Barceló and Alsina defined the morning conversation every day. Barceló’s Hoy por Hoy was pulling in around 3 million daily listeners, making it the most-listened-to morning show in Spain, while Alsina had turned Más de uno into a record-breaking competitor with nearly 1.8 million listeners and growing.

• Politically, both have labels — Barceló as center-left, Alsina as more centrist/liberal — but what actually made them stand out was their journalistic credibility.

• Tough interviews and analysis, and a level of professionalism that cut through Spain’s increasingly tribal media landscape. Even their critics listened (Alsina’s interview with PM Sánchez was chef’s kiss).

Why are they leaving? Depends on who’s asking. SER’s official reason was that Barceló wasn’t renewing her contract.

• However, there were reports that pointed to internal clashes within Prisa (the media conglomerate that owns SER) over editorial direction, with pressure to “diversify” voices and possibly shift tone after recent falling audience numbers.

Alsina’s exit was more philosophical. He openly admitted he’s “spent” after decades of political broadcasting and wants to focus on a different kind of radio (less confrontation, more storytelling).

• Conspiracy theory. Within hours, social media and some fringe media outlets were full of theories about a “right-wing conspiracy” to push out critical voices, especially as the electorate “moves to the right”. (There’s no evidence for that).

What now? Barceló’s future is unclear (podcast? Substack?), while Alsina is reinventing his role. Undoubtedly, Spanish radio is entering a new era. The age of the all-powerful morning anchor who sets the national mood at 8 a.m. is fading. In its place? God only knows.

4.🏅 Los Javis won big at Cannes with ‘The Black Ball’

Spanish cinema scores again. Los Javis (aka Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo) won Best Director in the Cannes Film Festival for La bola negra (The Black Ball), sharing the award with Paweł Pawlikowski, and yes, they got one of those long, emotional standing ovations (16 minutes!) that pretty much tells you that you’re cool.

• This is a huge moment for them, especially in a year where expectations were sky-high and most of the Spanish competition walked away empty-handed (sorry, Almodóvar!).

Blackballed. La bola negra is a layered drama inspired by legendary Spanish playwright and poet Federico García Lorca, weaving together three timelines (1932, 1937, and 2017) to explore love, repression, and queer memory in Spain (Lorca was gay and was murdered at the start of the Spanish Civil War, so it fits).

• Built partly from Lorca’s unfinished work, the film revolves around the idea that queer history often survives in fragments and that recovering it is almost an act of resistance.

• The cast is stacked with young Spanish talent (like Guitarricadelafuente and Miguel Bernardeu), and both Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close appear in it.

Political and emotional. The Javis used their Cannes moment to double down on why they think this story matters and say this is about reclaiming Lorca as a real person, not a sanitized cultural icon.

• Big statement. They said “Lorca was murdered for being gay” and their film leans hard into that, connecting past repression with today’s cultural and political tensions. It’s a very Los Javis film: unapologetically queer and definitely emotional.

The film hits Spanish cinemas on Oct. 2, and Netflix has already snapped up U.S. rights in a deal reportedly worth around $5 million. It's going global, fast.

• No love lost. The most surprising part of all this (in a good way)? It comes right after Ambrossi and Calvo, known for giving us iconic TV shows like Paquita Salas, Veneno, and La Mesias (and being the mainstay judges on Drag Race Spain), ended their relationship. Professionally, though, it looks like they’re still very much together.

5. 🤑 No more betting on whether Pedro Sánchez will leave office this year