A high-profile trial continues in Madrid over the Kitchen case, where the role of former chauffeur for the Bárcenas family — Sergio Ríos — has come to the forefront. According to El Pais, investigators believe he was the key figure in an operation to collect confidential information from the former treasurer of the People’s Party and his wife. Prosecutors are seeking nearly 12.5 years in prison for Ríos, considering his actions a betrayal of the family’s trust and part of a large-scale surveillance scheme.
Trust and Access
The Bárcenas family told the court in detail how Ríos, hired in early 2013, quickly became more than just a driver — he was entrusted with the most delicate assignments. Rosalía Iglesias emphasized that at home he was treated like a member of the family, with unrestricted access to personal information. According to Bárcenas, Ríos transported documents from the party’s main office on Génova Street and also delivered important papers to lawyer Javier Gómez de Liaño. In some cases, he was even trusted to deliver money to destroy compromising records related to the party financing case.
Change in Behavior and Suspicions
Rosalía Iglesias said that after her husband’s arrest, she noticed a sudden change in the driver’s behavior: he became nervous, drove aggressively, and showed unusual interest in her meetings. This made her suspicious, and she insisted on ending their relationship with Ríos. Bárcenas added that he paid the driver in cash so he wouldn’t lose his entitlement to unemployment benefits, and expressed outrage that Ríos was simultaneously receiving payments from various sources, including state funds.
Police Role and Operation Details
The investigation believes that it was Commissioner José Manuel Villarejo who recruited Ríos to collaborate in order to gain access to materials that could be of interest for investigating the activities of senior members of the People’s Party. According to the prosecutor’s office, Ríos received more than 53 thousand euros from secret funds for his services. Commissioner Enrique García Castaño confirmed that electronic devices belonging to Bárcenas were given to him for copying information.
Testimonies in court and the political context
During the hearings, Bárcenas recounted that even before the start of Operation Kitchen he tried, via Mariano Rajoy and Minister of Justice Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, to arrange for his wife to avoid public attention when attending court. As a result, Rosalía Iglesias was brought into the building through a separate entrance. Bárcenas also recalled a chance encounter with Villarejo in a restaurant in 2009, when he did not yet know who he was, and noted that another figure in the case, José Luis Olivera, was also present at the time.
During the trial, Ríos’s defense attempted to challenge Bárcenas’s version, but the lawyer refused to question Rosalía Iglesias, citing his client’s position. Attention to the details of the Kitchen case remains high, especially after the court previously limited the number of defendants, which sparked discussions among experts. More details about this decision can be found in the article on how the court in the Kitchen case limited the investigation and who this affects.
