The Partido Popular (PP) has stepped up its campaign against Mercedes González, director general of the Guardia Civil, after her appearance before the Senate Interior Committee. The party is demanding written answers from the government after González addressed her contacts with Leire Díez, a former PSOE militant linked in reporting to alleged efforts to interfere with judicial investigations affecting the party and people in Pedro Sánchez’s political circle. González initially described their interaction as limited to coffee; later accounts acknowledged meetings she had previously denied, information from reporting by Libertad Digital. Appointed to lead the Guardia Civil in March 2023, González defended herself before senators, saying: “Jamás, nunca, he participado en ninguna trama contra la Guardia Civil. Es mi casa, es mi familia.”
Central to the dispute is the testimony of Rubén Villalba, a Guardia Civil commander mentioned in the UCO investigation into alleged misconduct linked to the PSOE. According to the case file, Díez attempted to recruit Villalba to disrupt probes involving Sánchez’s circle. Villalba said a position in Rome was created to help his transfer abroad while he was under investigation in the Koldo case. He ultimately declined the post, citing concerns about his reputation, although the vacancy was published in Spain’s official state gazette, the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE). González has said she rejected Díez’s request outright. The PP’s questions seek to establish how that account relates to the creation and publication of the post.
The PP’s latest questions, signed by Interior spokesperson Ana Belén Vázquez and other party representatives, ask about González’s Senate testimony and the timing and rationale for the Rome position. The party has also called for González and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska to appear before Congress. Marlaska initially denied meeting Díez, then later acknowledged meetings, adding to scrutiny of the government’s handling of the contacts. These are parliamentary demands and allegations; on their own, they do not establish criminal responsibility.
The wider judicial inquiry is being handled by National Court judge Santiago Pedraz and concerns alleged attempts to harm or obstruct investigations tied to the PSOE and the government, including people in Sánchez’s environment. Reporting identifies Díez as under investigation and former PSOE leader Santos Cerdán as connected to the broader inquiry. In October 2026, Pedraz also sought information about lawyers and consultants who worked for the PSOE between 2021 and 2025, including details of their work and records supporting payments. The party requested additional time to deliver the contracts. The judicial inquiry and the parliamentary dispute over González’s testimony are politically related, but remain distinct processes.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has publicly backed González despite the controversy. The sequence of denials and later acknowledgments has intensified political pressure on both González and Grande-Marlaska, while the PP seeks further explanations about their interactions with Díez. Reporting has described political consequences for González, including her exclusion from the PSOE’s Madrid candidate lists. But, the controversy had not resulted in her being formally charged in the alleged scheme. The episode echoes other recent political confrontations in Spain, including the public fallout in the valley after a bishop’s arrival, detailed in a recent report on tensions triggered by leadership disputes.
The Guardia Civil operates under the Ministry of the Interior, and its director general’s role has become politically sensitive amid allegations of possible interference in judicial investigations. A separate dispute has further sharpened the political atmosphere: in October 2026, Díez filed a complaint against the PP over an AI-generated video that portrayed a fabricated version of her discussing hiring men to target a judge. Her lawyer, Eva Bejarano, said the video’s claims were “absoluta y rotundamente falsos.” The complaint, addressed to the National Court, concerns the video and alleged offences including defamation and identity impersonation. It is separate from the investigation into alleged interference. Together, the parliamentary demands and competing legal disputes have kept institutional transparency and accountability at the centre of the PP-PSOE confrontation.
