Spain's Guardia Civil is under intense scrutiny after the Unidad Central Operativa (UCO) found the only existing copies of two confidential disciplinary files in the locked office of the DAO, Teniente General Manuel Llamas. The files targeted agents involved in judicial investigations concerning Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's family. Their discovery has become part of a broader judicial inquiry into alleged pressure on UCO personnel handling politically sensitive cases.
The discovery took place on May 27, when UCO officers led by Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Balas arrived at Guardia Civil headquarters in Madrid to retrieve the files. Their search through several departments proved fruitless. Llamas's office turned out to hold the original documents, locked away and undigitized. Information from reporting by EL ESPAÑOL, no other copies or records existed elsewhere in the institution.
The two documents form part of a wider set of disciplinary proceedings. Documentation submitted to Judge Santiago Pedraz reportedly lists four files opened against UCO agents during 2025: two initiated by the head of the Judicial Police Directorate and two by Guardia Civil Director General Mercedes González. Files 190/25, opened on May 6, and 288/25, opened on July 11, concern an alleged serious disciplinary offence under Article 8.29 of Organic Law 12/2007, which governs the Guardia Civil's disciplinary regime. Files 147/25 and 175/2025 were opened on October 6 and November 27, respectively. They concern allegations including refusal to undergo alcohol or drug testing, as well as damage to service premises or abuse of authority.
The judicial investigation, led by National Court judge Santiago Pedraz, examines possible offences of prevarication and obstruction of justice involving González and Llamas. Both officials were summoned to testify in Madrid on July 16. The proceedings concern alleged internal actions directed at UCO agents working on politically sensitive investigations. The allegations remain matters for the court, not findings of guilt.
The first confidential inquiry involving the UCO reportedly began on December 4, 2024, after email addresses connected to people who were not under investigation in the Badajoz case involving David Sánchez, the prime minister's brother, were published. The information had been drawn from a UCO filing. Llamas told the judge that confidential inquiries were not exceptional within the Guardia Civil and that he had opened six such investigations.
Written material submitted after Llamas's appearance identified two UCO-related inquiries as 1/24 and 1/25. According to the account of that evidence, González was informed about the opening and closure of one inquiry because she and the interior minister had participated in its origin, while she herself ordered the second. Llamas's written explanation said González was not formally notified in writing of the closure because she had ordered the inquiry's opening and so already knew about it.
The UCO has rejected the suggestion that the four disciplinary files were related to its judicial-police work. That position contrasts with allegations that internal proceedings were used to target investigators handling politically sensitive cases. The distinction between files initiated by the Judicial Police Directorate and those opened by González is basic to the dispute.
The case has unfolded alongside allegations of pressure on investigators working on the David Sánchez proceedings and other matters affecting the PSOE. Investigators in the David Sánchez case reportedly told Pedraz that they were being pressured. Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Balas later became the instructor of the relevant disciplinary proceedings, bringing the handling of the files under further scrutiny.
Case documents show that González and PSOE operative Leire Díez met on September 30 and December 20, 2024, and April 2, 2025. During the last meeting, Díez reportedly offered incentives to Commander Rubén Villalba, who was implicated in the Koldo case, in exchange for information about UCO investigators, particularly Balas. These allegations form part of wider claims of efforts to discredit UCO investigators, along with judges and prosecutors.
On April 29, 2025, the Guardia Civil's Information Headquarters issued a memo warning of a coordinated campaign to undermine the UCO's credibility. It named Díez and linked the alleged strategy to former PSOE secretary Santos Cerdán and González. The UCO produced a similar note on May 6 and delivered it to General Alfonso López Malo, who discussed it with Llamas. Anticorruption prosecutors allege that Llamas withheld the original memo for ten days despite its relevance to ongoing investigations.
López Malo's concerns led to counter-surveillance measures around two UCO officers identified as targets. Llamas also told him that he had already briefed González on the Information Headquarters' findings. González reportedly continued communicating with Díez, including on May 11, 2025, when sensitive WhatsApp* (принадлежит Metа, которая признана экстремистской организацией и запрещена в РФ) messages between former minister José Luis Ábalos and Sánchez surfaced in the press. González activated auto-delete on her chat with Díez that day.
On May 29, 2025, González met with Llamas and López Malo, as well as UCO chief Rafael Yuste and Balas, without disclosing her prior contacts with Díez. Prosecutors have questioned González's recent testimony before the Senate's investigative committee, citing alleged inconsistencies with documentary evidence.
The case has brought tensions within Spain's law-enforcement and political spheres into focus, particularly over the handling of sensitive investigations and the custody of official documents. The dispute also raises broader questions about institutional transparency and accountability. Similar disputes over official conduct and legal oversight have surfaced in other Spanish regions, including when Compromís considered legal action against Vicent Mompó following a court dispute.
The Guardia Civil is Spain's national law-enforcement force, with both military and civilian functions. The DAO, or Deputy Operational Director, is a senior position overseeing operations, while the UCO specializes in complex criminal investigations, including cases involving political and economic corruption. The dispute over the disciplinary files and alleged pressure on investigators remains before the courts. No final judicial determination has been made on the allegations described here.
