Delcy Rodríguez has begun legal action against Víctor de Aldama after he alleged she delivered a confidential envelope from Venezuela’s state oil company to finance Spain’s PSOE. The dispute now heads to a Madrid court.
Delcy Rodríguez, acting president of Venezuela, has formally initiated legal proceedings against businessman Víctor de Aldama in Madrid. The move comes after Aldama alleged that Rodríguez personally handed him a confidential envelope from Venezuela’s state oil company, Pdvsa, intended to finance Spain’s ruling PSOE party. Rodríguez, represented by the law firm led by former judge Baltasar Garzón, is demanding a public retraction from Aldama, who made the claims during a televised interview. The legal process began with a request for a conciliation hearing, scheduled for July 16, as confirmed by judicial sources and reported by El Mundo.
The controversy centers on a sealed envelope bearing Pdvsa’s insignia, which Aldama submitted to Spain’s Audiencia Nacional in March. The envelope, marked “confidential,” was previously only known to investigators through a photograph found on Aldama’s phone during probes into the so-called Koldo and hydrocarbons cases. The image indicated Delcy Rodríguez as the recipient and Venezuela’s then oil minister, Manuel Quevedo Fernández, as the sender. However, the physical envelope and its contents had not been located until Aldama’s recent handover to Judge Ismael Moreno, who is overseeing a secret investigation into alleged irregular financing of the PSOE.
Aldama, already under scrutiny for his role in a major hydrocarbons fraud, told prosecutors that the envelope was linked to both the oil business and illegal funding of the PSOE and the Socialist International. He claimed Delcy Rodríguez delivered the envelope to him, a statement that prompted Judge Santiago Pedraz to forward Aldama’s testimony to Judge Moreno. The case remains under judicial secrecy, and the details of the documents inside the envelope have not been publicly disclosed.
Rodríguez’s legal team filed the conciliation request in Madrid’s civil court as a prerequisite to a formal defamation lawsuit. The court has set July 16 for the hearing, where Aldama’s lawyer must appear, though Aldama himself is not required to attend. If no agreement is reached, Rodríguez will proceed with the lawsuit for slander. Aldama, who has been sentenced by Spain’s Supreme Court to four and a half years in prison for criminal organization and bribery, faces mounting legal challenges as a result of his statements.
This high-profile dispute adds to a series of recent legal and political confrontations involving Spain’s institutions and ruling parties. For example, ongoing tensions between regional leaders and the central government over sensitive issues have been highlighted in other cases, such as the recent standoff over Social Security powers in Euskadi, as detailed in this report on regional-government disputes.
Spain’s Audiencia Nacional plays a central role in investigating complex cases of political financing and corruption, often involving international actors. The outcome of Rodríguez’s legal action could have implications for how cross-border allegations are handled in Spanish courts, especially when they intersect with sensitive political matters. The case also underscores the ongoing scrutiny of party financing in Spain, a topic that has repeatedly surfaced in recent years amid broader concerns about transparency and accountability in public life.
