Court: Zapatero’s Inner Circle Sought Permits for Plus Ultra via Venezuela. A National Court judge has uncovered attempts to influence Venezuelan aviation authorities in favor of Plus Ultra flights. At the center of the case are the connections of former Prime Minister Zapatero’s associates and their correspondence with the head of INAC. The company’s funding is also under scrutiny.
Spanish judge José Luis Calama has reported evidence of lobbying for the interests of the airline Plus Ultra through high-ranking representatives of Venezuela. Case materials reference contacts between Alicante businessman Julio Martínez Martínez, who is close to former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and the head of Venezuela’s National Institute of Civil Aviation (INAC), Juan Manuel Teixeira. According to the court, these connections were used to obtain flight permits for Plus Ultra.
Investigators were drawn to the activities of the consulting company Análisis Relevante, through which, it is alleged, payments from Plus Ultra and funds intended for the former head of government were routed. The judge notes that there could have been a stable influence structure formed around Zapatero, with the purpose of securing economic benefits through mediation and pressure on state bodies in the interests of third parties, primarily Plus Ultra.
The court obtained messages exchanged between Martínez Martínez and Teixeira, sent from March to July 2021. In one of them, the Venezuelan official sent the Spanish businessman an agreement regarding Plus Ultra’s debt to INAC for $238,618. Martínez Martínez promised to pass the information to the airline’s management. Subsequent messages discussed payment details, as well as the coordination and approval of flights between Caracas and Madrid.
The judge highlights an episode when Teixeira reported unauthorized flights and expressed dissatisfaction that the responsibility for cancellations had been shifted onto the Venezuelan authorities. He emphasized that Plus Ultra was selling tickets for flights without official authorization and called for passengers to be informed of the real reasons for the cancellations. In another exchange, Martínez Martínez requested assistance in obtaining permission for a specific flight, and a day later received confirmation of the flights' approval, expressing gratitude for the help.
The case files also include a message from someone identified as “Z,” registered in Martínez Martínez’s phone, who congratulated him on the “successful resolution” of the issue. The judge believes that these contacts confirm the existence of stable channels of influence between the Spanish and Venezuelan participants in the scheme.
The context of the case is further complicated by the fact that in 2021 Plus Ultra received a €53 million loan from the Spanish government as part of anti-crisis support. This decision sparked public outcry and became the subject of a separate investigation, as previously reported in the article about the searches in offices connected to the Plus Ultra case.
For reference: INAC is the main civil aviation regulator in Venezuela, and its former head Teixeira previously led the military unit responsible for airspace control. Plus Ultra is a Spanish airline specializing in flights between Spain and Latin America. Questions about the transparency of its operations and its links to politicians remain at the center of attention of the Spanish media and judicial bodies.
