Valencian court indicts former justice official over manipulated DANA audio leak
Ricardo García, the former undersecretary of the Valencian Justice Department, must testify on 24 November 2026 for his alleged role in leaking a doctored AEMET phone call about the deadly October 2024 storm.
The catastrophic DANA and the disputed phone call
On 29 October 2024, a devastating cold drop (DANA) killed 230 people in Valencia. At 12:01 that day, a telephone conversation was recorded between a technician from Spain's state meteorological agency (AEMET) and an operator at the 112 emergency centre of the Valencian Generalitat. The full, four-minute call shows the AEMET worker warning that the afternoon would be more difficult in the interior north of Valencia and that maximum precipitation would shift towards that area. However, a trimmed version of the call was later leaked, removing the warning and ending with the phrase "we are not going to bother you with more alerts," creating the false impression that the agency had downplayed the danger.
- DANA storm kills 230 people; phone call between AEMET and 112 recorded at 12:01.
- Two senior Justice and Interior officials access the call and copy it onto a USB drive.
- Trimmed audio leaked to several media; President Mazón amplifies it on X.
- Full 4-minute audio published, showing AEMET's complete warning.
- Llíria court indicts Ricardo García and summons him for 24 November 2026.
- García scheduled to appear as an investigated party before the judge.
How the manipulated audio was disseminated
On 12 February 2025, the presidency of the Generalitat began distributing the shortened recording to several media outlets. Minutes after the first stories appeared, the then president Carlos Mazón shared the news on his official X account. The doctored clip quickly fueled a narrative that AEMET had failed to alert the regional government, and numerous PP officials joined in attacks against the agency and the Spanish government. The following day, 13 February, the full audio was published, revealing the complete warning that had been selectively omitted.
Testimony leads to criminal indictment
Judge María Pastor of the Llíria court ordered Ricardo García to appear as an investigated party on 24 November 2026 at 9:15. The decision came after the public prosecutor and the PSPV (the Socialist party acting as popular accuser) requested his imputation based on the statement of emergency sub-director Jorge Suárez and reports from the Guardia Civil's technological investigations unit. The EDITE forensic analysis showed that between 30 October and 2 November 2024, two senior officials from the Department of Justice and Interior, including García and Alberto Martín Moratilla, had accessed and copied the call onto a USB drive.
There are sufficient indications of criminality to direct the proceedings against Ricardo García as an investigated party.
Suárez testified that García was the person to whom the recording was handed over, and that the audio "ended up being disseminated despite its confidential nature."
The other official not charged
The judge rejected the PSPV's request to also charge Alberto Martín Moratilla, the former director-general of emergency services. According to the court, Moratilla only requested that the call be located but did not ultimately access the recording. The prosecutor supported that view. The inquiry is separate from the larger DANA case at Catarroja, where former councillor Salomé Pradas is the main investigated figure.
Next judicial steps
The AEMET itself filed a complaint over the manipulation of a confidential document, prompting the Llíria investigation. The hearing on 24 November will be the first time García faces questioning on the leak that, according to the judge, was used to create a false story in order to attack the state agency and deflect responsibility from the regional administration. The case remains at an early stage, and further witness statements may be ordered after García's testimony.
