Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has made clear that Mercedes González, director of the Guardia Civil, will keep her post despite being summoned as a person under investigation by the Audiencia Nacional. Judge Santiago Pedraz is examining whether internal proceedings involving agents of the Guardia Civil’s Central Operative Unit (UCO) were used to pressure investigators handling sensitive cases involving Sánchez’s family and Socialist figures. González and the force’s deputy operational director, Lieutenant General Manuel Llamas, are under investigation over alleged prevarication and obstruction of justice. That procedural status does not establish criminal liability.
The case centers in part on two internal files, numbered 1/24 and 1/25. The first reportedly began toward the end of 2024, after private email material connected with the investigation into David Sánchez, the prime minister’s brother, appeared in the press. The material also included emails belonging to Begoña Gómez, Sánchez’s wife. The UCO was handling the underlying inquiries in Badajoz, including an investigation into alleged favoritism. The stated institutional rationale for the internal proceedings was to examine the disclosure of personal data about people outside that judicial inquiry.
The Guardia Civil’s deputy operational director has reportedly told the judge that the internal process began with a telephone call from Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, which alerted González. His account also distinguishes between one proceeding in which González was informed and another she ordered directly. The files reportedly ended without disciplinary sanctions. The government says investigating a leak of sensitive personal information was legitimate and points to the absence of penalties. The court is examining whether the proceedings were properly justified or intended to hinder UCO work.
The inquiry also follows complaints by UCO commanders Alfonso López Malo and Rafael Yuste, who described the alleged pressure on judicial-police investigators as “intimidatory pressure.” González and Llamas reportedly appeared before Pedraz in July to answer questions. González has denied taking part in efforts to obstruct judicial investigations and reportedly described herself as a victim of the wider network under examination. She remains in her post amid calls for her resignation from several Guardia Civil associations.
González’s contacts with former PSOE member Leire Díez form another line of inquiry. The UCO reportedly confirmed several meetings between them, including one at González’s official office in November 2024. Díez later declined to say publicly whether she had discussed alleged pressure on UCO agents with González, saying: “When I have something to say, believe me, I know where to say it.” Government officials acknowledge that the meetings, and their later concealment as described in the political debate, were a political misstep. They reject the claim that the internal proceedings amounted to a campaign against the UCO, distinguish political errors from criminal conduct and argue that the UCO is both the subject of the allegations and a source of evidence in the case.
The approach marks a shift from previous PSOE policy, under which political figures often resigned as soon as they were named as persons under investigation. Sánchez previously demanded the resignation of Culture Minister Màxim Huerta in 2018 over a tax issue and pressed José Luis Ábalos to give up his seat before any formal charges. The government now says only clear evidence of misconduct should prompt resignations, pointing to the lack of disciplinary sanctions in the internal cases. It also cites its position on the allegations involving González, the PSOE’s manager and the SEPI president.
The Guardia Civil is Spain’s oldest law enforcement agency, with both military and civilian roles. Its UCO specializes in complex criminal investigations, including corruption and organized crime. The case puts the Guardia Civil’s chain of command under scrutiny, including Interior Minister Grande-Marlaska and González, as the court examines who initiated the internal proceedings, what they were meant to address and whether they affected judicial-police work. The outcome could shape debates over political accountability and the boundary between internal discipline and judicial oversight.
