Guardia Civil chief messaged PSOE 'plumber' hours before internal probe into her own unit, UCO report shows

New UCO report deepens suspicion on Guardia Civil chief

The Unidad Central Operativa (UCO) has sent a new report to judge Santiago Pedraz at the Audiencia Nacional, detailing how Mercedes González, the director general of the Guardia Civil, exchanged messages with Leire Díez, the former PSOE militant known as the party's "plumber", on the morning of 11 May 2025. That same day, an internal investigation was ordered against UCO agents who were probing corruption cases affecting the government.

Taking advantage of the relationship she had with the director general of the Civil Guard and through her, Leire set as one of her objectives carrying out internal investigations within the Civil Guard directed against the Central Operative Unit.

Chronology of the 11 May events

At 9:16 a.m. on Sunday 11 May 2025, Díez and González exchanged WhatsApp messages. The UCO report notes that the first trace is compatible with a previous conversation having been deleted and a new one initiated, and that González activated automatic message deletion with a 24-hour period that very day. Two hours later, at 11:30 a.m., the Deputy Director of Operations (DAO) Manuel Llamas met with a subordinate to commission an internal inquiry into a supposed leak of WhatsApp messages between Pedro Sánchez and José Luis Ábalos published that Sunday by El Mundo. The investigation was formally opened the following day, 12 May, with an email confirming the order. The UCO stresses that the leak blamed on its agents in fact had nothing to do with its work: by 12:42 p.m. on 11 May, Ábalos' own lawyer had confirmed to Díez that the messages had been leaked by Ábalos himself.

The first trace is compatible with a deleted conversation and the second is indicative that the Director General activated automatic message deletion with a 24-hour cadence.

González was informed of Díez's activities earlier

The report also reveals that González had been aware of Leire Díez's activities since at least 8 May 2025, when the DAO informed her of a 29 April internal note from the Guardia Civil's Information Headquarters. That note detailed how Díez was allegedly seeking to attack the UCO's investigation procedurally, personally insult agents, and request any compromising material available. A second note on 5 May reiterated the same concerns, emphasizing that Díez boasted of controlling the Guardia Civil and the Public Prosecutor's Office.

Exceptionality of three internal probes during González's tenure

The UCO underscores the "exceptionality" of three internal investigations targeting the unit between December 2024 and September 2025, all during González's leadership. The first received the numbering 1/2024, the third 1/2025, while the May 2021 probe, the one directly linked to the 11 May messages, was never registered because the judge overseeing the Koldo case at the Supreme Court warned that he would open a criminal investigation if it went ahead. The DAO ordered the immediate archiving and no investigative steps were taken.

Senate hearing and institutional damage

Mercedes González is set to appear before the Senate on 16 June 2026. She has denied discussing anything related to the alleged sabotage scheme with Díez but admitted two meetings with her. The political opposition and many inside the Civil Guard see the accumulation of evidence as undermining the institutional neutrality of the body. Article after article points out that the director general, a personal friend of the prime minister, has yet to offer a full explanation for deleting messages and for failing to distance herself from the woman now accused of heading a criminal organization aimed at obstructing justice.

The director general's actions place the Ministry of the Interior as an instrument of dirty war.