UCO finds diaries and documents at PSOE placing Cerdán at the head of a plot to destabilize judicial cases
Guardia Civil reports seized diaries and a document titled 'Incumplimientos' from Socialist Party headquarters, placing former organizing secretary Santos Cerdán at the helm of an alleged network that sought to sabotage court cases affecting the party and the prime minister's inner circle.
The 'Incumplimientos' document
A 107-page report delivered to Audiencia Nacional judge Santiago Pedraz by the Guardia Civil's Central Operative Unit details findings from searches conducted on 27 May at PSOE's Madrid headquarters and at Santos Cerdán's residence in Milagro, Navarre. Investigators located a file called 'Incumplimientos' on a Lenovo laptop belonging to Cerdán. Dated 19 November 2024, the document catalogs complaints by former party militant Leire Díez that the public prosecutor's office was refusing to bend ongoing proceedings in favor of the PSOE.
They told us the lawyer should approach the prosecutor to reach an agreement. When the lawyer approached him the prosecutor said he had a 'broken telephone' and that there was no deal at all.
The note adds that ex-commissioner José Manuel Villarejo possesses evidence that would prove corruption on the part of Supreme Court judge Manuel Marchena.
Cerdán's handwritten notes
Agents seized several paper diaries from Santos Cerdán that the UCO says show he 'acquired special relevance in the participation and knowledge' of the operation. One annotation in Cerdán's handwriting reads 'Badajoz: que Fiscalía apoye el recusación', a reference to efforts to recuse Judge Beatriz Biedma, who was investigating the hiring of David Sánchez, the prime minister's brother, by the Badajoz provincial council. The Guardia Civil also found a note in Cerdán's diary reflecting strategy outlined by lawyer Jacobo Teijelo and his client, former UCO captain Juan Sánchez Yepes: 'Ha dicho Jacobo, pide la nulidad en la causa de su cliente Yepes'.
Payments for travel and a simulated contract
The UCO concluded that the PSOE itself funded travel by Leire Díez and Javier Pérez Dolset aimed at discrediting investigators involved in cases touching Pedro Sánchez's immediate circle. Invoices seized during the searches document these payments. Separately, the testimony of chauffeur Álvaro Gallego indicates that the party planned to pay businesswoman Carmen Pano more than 40,000 euros through a 'simulated contract' to alter her court testimony and, in Gallego's words, 'save the skin of Ábalos and Koldo' (referring to former transport minister José Luis Ábalos and his ex-advisor Koldo García).
Targeting prosecutors and judges
Anti-corruption prosecutor José Grinda was 'one of the targets' of the alleged network. Material seized contains repeated references to Grinda, and a businessman who dealt with the group told investigators members spoke of 'getting rid of' him. On the Badajoz front, the UCO report says Leire Díez directed former judge Luis José Sáenz de Tejada to route a complaint against Judge Biedma through the Attorney General's Office because, according to the Guardia Civil, Díez claimed to have 'control' over the institution headed at that time by Álvaro García Ortiz. That complaint was ultimately filed with and rejected by the Extremadura Superior Prosecutor's Office.
Organizational involvement
The report documents how numerous party cadres and workers participated in the operations, framing the network as an organic PSOE structure rather than a rogue operation. Leire Díez referred to Cerdán as 'Santi' and stated she would handle a related matter 'my way if I want it to go well. I know him and right now his priority is the hydrocarbons issue on orders from the one.'The evidence gathered on 27.05.2026 has confirmed this point.
- Group commanded by Cerdán and Leire begins operating around the time Pedro Sánchez threatened to resign.
- Leire Díez drafts 'Incumplimientos' document cataloguing prosecutors' refusal to cooperate with the network's aims.
- Deadline by which the law firm of Leticia de la Hoz had proposed a simulated 40,000-euro contract to Carmen Pano.
- Judge Pedraz orders searches of PSOE headquarters and private residences; UCO seizes devices and notebooks.
- 107-page UCO report delivered to Judge Pedraz, revealing seized agendas and the 'Incumplimientos' document.
