Pedraz takes testimony from former UCO chief after he claimed he received orders to remain "low profile"

The investigation led by the judge of the Audiencia Nacional, Santiago Pedraz, faces a new day of statements this Friday with the appearance of Rafael Yuste, former head of the Central Operative Unit (UCO). His testimony gains relevance after he reported that the then number two of the Civil Guard urged him to "stay on the sidelines" and not be "proactive" in investigations with "political implications."

Yuste already declared on May 27 before the investigators of the armed institute, where he claimed to have received a request from the Chief of Staff to prepare an organizational chart of the UCO with the agents who maintained a direct relationship with the investigations linked to the President of the Government. This request was part of a reserved information opened after a journalistic publication that questioned the actions of the then Deputy Operational Director (DAO).

In addition to the former head of the UCO, the magistrate will hear from the head of the Judicial Police of the Civil Guard, Alfonso Alberto López Malo, who warned of a campaign against the unit; the Chief of Staff of the corps, Division General Leonardo Sánchez Peláez; and the commander in charge of investigating the alleged leaks of the 'Koldo case', who finally ruled out that they came from the UCO.

Jacobo Teijelo has already testified this week as an investigated party

Santos Cerdán's lawyer, Jacobo Teijelo, is summoned on the morning of this Thursday, June 25, at 10:00 a.m. before the judge of the Audiencia Nacional Santiago Pedraz as an investigated party in the so-called 'Leire Díez case'. His statement is part of the round of interrogations that began this week and will last until mid-July.

The magistrate places him within the investigation into the alleged plot related to former socialist militant Leire Díez. According to the case, this plot would have acted against judicial procedures affecting the Government or the PSOE through actions directed against judges, prosecutors, and officials of the Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard.

Among the evidence analyzed by the judge is the alleged collection of 125,000 euros from the PSOE. According to the documentation incorporated into the summary, this money would be related to activities linked to the hydrocarbon sector.

The investigation also incorporates information sent by the State Attorney General's Office about two meetings held in 2025 in which Teijelo and Leire Díez participated. One on March 6, 2025, and another between late March and early April, in which, according to the Public Prosecutor's Office, Díez was introduced as a "colleague from the office."