The Justice has opened an investigation to clarify how the personal messages and agendas of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero were leaked, incorporated into the 'Plus Ultra case'. Magistrate Margarita Valcarce, head of seat 16 of the Instruction Section of the Court of First Instance of Madrid, has initiated preliminary proceedings and has ordered the Judicial Police to prepare a report on the dissemination of reserved documentation that included information unrelated to the investigations.
The former President of the Government has requested to appear as an injured party, as reported by 'El País'. The procedure begins after José Luis Calama, instructor of the main case in the Audiencia Nacional, requested on June 25 to investigate the origin of the leaks and ascertain whether they could constitute a crime of disclosure of secrets.
Private life, exposed in the annexes
The material came from the phone of Gertrudis Alcázar, Zapatero's secretary and also investigated in the case, seized by the Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) of the National Police. The agents incorporated into their reports annexes with thousands of conversations that mixed professional dealings with personal matters of the former president.
Among these files were his complete agendas for 2024 and 2025, with appointments, trips, and private meetings. The documentation was made available to the parties and ended up being disseminated in the media. The scope of that publication caused discomfort in Zapatero's circle due to the exposure of data unrelated to the investigated facts.
One of the police reports accompanying this material indicated that the former president would have received 200,000 euros for alleged dealings with the Government of Bolivia in favor of a Peruvian cement company. This police hypothesis is part of the investigations and is pending judicial accreditation. The main case investigates an alleged influence peddling scheme linked to the public rescue of 53 million euros granted to Plus Ultra during the pandemic; Zapatero has denied having exerted influence in favor of the airline.
The dissemination of personal data also provoked a reaction from the PSOE. Its Organization Secretary, Rebeca Torró, then denounced that "leaking private conversations and medical information unrelated to a judicial case is a very serious violation of privacy". "Nothing justifies turning a person's private life into political ammunition," she added.
Calama warned of leaks
The instructor himself had warned in June that, since the proceedings were made available to the parties through a digital platform, there had been "constant and immediate leaks to the media". He considered especially serious the full dissemination of the police report and its annexes, "despite containing data incompatible with its indiscriminate publication." The recording of Zapatero's statement had also been leaked a day after it occurred.
Calama agreed to refer the facts to the ordinary courts for investigation into their possible criminal nature and the identity of those responsible. In his resolution, he recalled the duty of confidentiality during the investigation and warned of possible crimes of disclosure of reserved actions or information, in addition to any disciplinary or professional responsibilities that might arise.
To stop further leaks, the magistrate also restricted the access of popular accusations to digital documentation, centralizing it in the PP as representative of the unified popular accusation. Likewise, he ordered the creation of a separate "sensitive information" piece for the recordings of witness and investigated statements. The investigation into who disseminated the material now falls to the ongoing investigation in Madrid.
Valcarce requested additional information from the Audiencia Nacional at the beginning of September, which has already responded to that request. The next step is the report from the Judicial Police, tasked with clarifying how the reserved documentation left the procedure and providing elements to identify those potentially responsible.
