Commander Villalba ratifies that Leire Díez claimed to have contacts with "those at the top" and that the meetings were to obtain "compromising information about the Civil Guard"

The Civil Guard commander Rubén Villalba declared this Tuesday before judge Santiago Pedraz who is investigating the case of the former socialist militant Leire Díez regarding alleged activities to influence the Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard as well as judicial investigations that affect the PSOE and Pedro Sánchez's Executive.

In this context, Villalba ratified in his statement claims he had already made on other occasions, such as acknowledging having held several meetings with Díez on March 10 and 26, 2025. Likewise, according to 'Europa Press', he stated that the former militant presented herself as a person who had ties with "those at the top of the Government", who had access to the "one".

"The objective of the meeting was none other than to obtain compromising information about the Civil Guard," he testified according to sources from the aforementioned media.

The commander, who is listed as investigated in the Koldo case, appeared as a witness on a day marked by new proceedings. In his day, he asserted that he received proposals to improve his professional situation and regain institutional prestige. Among them, the possibility of joining as an advisor to the director general of the Civil Guard, Mercedes González, an offer that, according to his version, was linked to obtaining sensitive information about the Central Operative Unit (UCO).

This Tuesday's judicial agenda also includes the statements of Patricia Isabel Espinar, co-founder of the media Crónica Libre, on issues related to PSOE contracts, and of Francisco Ortega, former bodyguard and former Correos employee who accompanied Díez in some of her meetings with Villalba. Ortega was working at the Spanish Embassy in Venezuela when the commander was indicted in the Koldo case.

Nullity of the case rejected

The judge of the Audiencia Nacional Santiago Pedraz has dismissed the request presented by Leire Díez with which she sought to annul part of the judicial proceedings in the case in which she is being investigated for alleged actions aimed at interfering in investigations with political repercussions for the PSOE and the Executive.

The former socialist militant demanded that the police operation carried out on December 10 be declared invalid, as well as the material seized during that action, including mobile phones, electronic devices, and various documents. In addition, she requested that the investigations subsequently developed from those pieces of evidence be annulled.

Her legal representation argued that the agents' actions lacked sufficient justification and maintained that there were no circumstances that made an arrest necessary, while alleging possible violations of rights during the procedure.

However, the magistrate has refused to examine the content of these allegations, understanding that the petition was submitted once the established legal deadlines had expired. In his resolution, he also considers that this type of appeal cannot be used to re-debate issues that have already been addressed and resolved during the investigation phase.