Civil Guard chief contradicts UCO reports in Senate grilling over Leire Díez links
Mercedes González, director of the Civil Guard, denied any pressure on investigators and claimed she informed superiors about meetings with Leire Díez, but UCO reports and prior statements tell a different story.
Denial of pressure and internal investigations
González began her appearance before the Senate Interior Committee with a categorical denial: no measure of pressure had ever been adopted against any Guardia Civil unit. Yet the two most recent chiefs of the UCO, testifying under oath, described "political pressure" directed at the Deputy Operational Director (DAO). UCO summaries show that reserved proceedings were opened against agents investigating figures close to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez or the PSOE. One of those inquiries, into a leak about the president's brother, was closed with only a recommendation; another, into alleged DAO interference, was archived without any finding of responsibility in September 2025.
No se han adoptado jamás nunca ninguna medida de presión contra ninguna unidad de la Guardia Civil.
The Leire Díez contacts
The relationship with Leire Díez, the former PSOE militant investigated for orchestrating attacks on judges, prosecutors, and the UCO, dominated questioning. González admitted two face‑to‑face meetings, "two coffees," she said, though later she corrected herself: "two teas, because I don't drink coffee." She insisted that neither encounter touched on Guardia Civil business and that no job was offered. UCO reports, however, refer to three contacts, and on the third she said she "does not remember" but did not rule it out. Crucially, González deleted her WhatsApp exchanges with Díez, and one deletion occurred on 11 May 2025, the same day the two exchanged messages and the day an internal investigation was opened.
No he tenido nunca una reunión con la señora Leire Díez, lo que he hecho ha sido tomarme dos cafés con ella.
Confusion over what the Interior Minister knew
González told senators that on 29 May 2025 she met in her office with the DAO, the UCO chief, and the general of the Judicial Police and explicitly disclosed her encounters with Díez. She said the same meeting was repeated the next day, 30 May, with Interior Minister Fernando Grande‑Marlaska at the ministry. But in late June 2025, Grande‑Marlaska had stated publicly that González herself had denied any conversation or visit with Díez. A parliamentary reply that month also denied the meetings. When pressed on this contradiction, González maintained that neither she nor the minister had lied, but she acknowledged that she had never used the word "reunion" with Díez, calling the encounters informal.
Even the director of the Guardia Civil and from the Guardia Civil any conversation and any visit of Leire to the director of the Guardia Civil was denied.
Timeline of internal alerts and actions
Internal records trace the alerting process. On 29 April 2025, the Intelligence service produced a note about the maneuvers of Leire Díez to undermine the UCO. A second note was drafted by the UCO itself on 5 May and passed to the Judicial Police. By 8 May, the Judicial Police chief was told by the DAO that González was already aware of the first note. Yet on 11 May, at 9:16 a.m., González and Díez exchanged WhatsApp messages. Investigators later found only automatic message traces, the chat had been deliberately erased.
- Intelligence service issues internal note on Leire Díez's activity to discredit the UCO.
- UCO drafts its own note on the same subject and forwards it to the Judicial Police.
- Judicial Police chief is told that González already knows about the first note.
- González and Díez exchange WhatsApp messages at 9:16; the chat is later erased.
- González meets with DAO, UCO chief and Judicial Police general and says she disclosed her meetings with Díez.
- Meeting with Interior Minister Grande-Marlaska; González claims she repeated the disclosure.
- González testifies before the Senate Interior Committee and contradicts key evidence.
Political fallout and next steps
González dismissed the UCO reports as mere indications, not rulings, and accused the opposition of treating Leire Díez's agenda "like the gospel." Senators from PP and Vox were unconvinced; even before the session ended the PP announced it would summon González again before the Koldo case investigation committee. The contradictions over pressure, meetings, and ministerial knowledge have deepened the scandal, putting the leadership of Spain's largest law‑enforcement body under intense parliamentary scrutiny.
Los informes de la UCO no son autos, recaban indicios.
