The former Minister of Justice and Interior of the Generalitat Valenciana, Salomé Pradas, and José Manuel Cuenca, former chief of staff to the former regional president Carlos Mazón, appeared this Monday for a confrontation before the judge investigating the criminal case regarding the management of the devastating dana of October 29, 2024, which left at least 230 fatalities in the province of Valencia.
The hearing, held at Court of Instruction 3 in Catarroja (Valencia), has been marked by contradictions in both their accounts of their communications and decisions during the critical hours of the emergency, as well as by the presence of victims of the dana who greeted the accused with shouts of "murderer," "liar," and "shameless" upon her arrival at the courthouse.
Pradas reiterated before the judge that she tried on several occasions to convey to Mazón the proposal to confine the population, but that she could not communicate with him directly during the afternoon of the tragedy. "I believe the 'president' should have known about the case," stated the former minister, who maintains that her priority was to alert the highest authority of the Generalitat about the need for this measure.
The former minister also defended that she was "on the front line" and that her intention was always to coordinate emergency responses as soon as possible. In her words, after trying to contact Mazón by phone, she turned to Cuenca and other members of the Presidency to convey her proposals.For his part, Cuenca denied having given instructions that contradicted the measures proposed by Pradas and affirmed that **he did not have the authority to decide on a possible lockdown on his own**. As he explained, his role was to **consult with the Generalitat's legal counsel on the legal framework for decisions**, and while awaiting a response, he asked the former minister to **remain calm and not take hasty measures**.Among the messages provided as evidence is one in which Cuenca replied to Pradas: "No confinement," referring to the possibility of ordering a lockdown, and another in which he said, "To order a lockdown, you need a state of alarm, and that's declared by the woman next to you," alluding to the government delegate.
The confrontation has been accompanied by accusations in the street: associations of victims of the dana have gathered in front of the courthouse, carrying photographs of their deceased relatives and banners demanding justice more than a year after the tragedy. The victim associations have taken advantage of the moment to insult all public entities related to the management.
The judicial investigation aims to clarify the differences between Pradas' and Cuenca's accounts, especially regarding how orders were evaluated and transmitted during the emergency, who assumed responsibility for key decisions such as the lockdown and the sending of alerts, and what was the role of the Generalitat in crisis management.