Aldama’s interruption forces psoe to reshape strategy on leire case

Víctor de Aldama’s sudden appearance disrupted the carefully planned statement of leire díez, a former socialist militant, echoing moments of courtroom chaos reminiscent of past political confrontations.

díez’s press conference at a key psoe venue was arranged the day before in ferraz, where she met with investigator alberto cachinero and organization secretary santos cerdán. she handed over a pendrive that the party planned to submit to the public prosecutor’s office. díez was instructed to deny all accusations, especially any orders from pedro sánchez or cerdán. she stated, “my work is my work, and i have not acted on behalf of anyone. i am not a public employee nor hold any position in the psoe. i am a member with rights.”

the plan failed as aldama, linked to díez through the hydrocarbons fraud case, stormed the event. his interruption invalidated the government and psoe’s narrative, which portrayed recent press revelations as a defense conspiracy. that theory suggested aldama and díez were colluding. this misjudgment was apparent when a live presenter mistakenly claimed aldama came to support díez.

aldama, under investigation and released with restrictions since november, allegedly committed fraud through a company called villafuel. the ministry for ecological transition, led by teresa ribera at the time, granted villafuel a license without meeting the conditions. díez reportedly met with alejandro hamlyn, another suspect defended by aldama’s lawyer, to offer a deal with the prosecution in exchange for information about a uco lieutenant colonel.

aldama did not attend to support díez but to accuse her of lying and to challenge her silence on sánchez and cerdán. he called her act a “sham” orchestrated by “government scoundrels.”

the psoe quickly changed tactics, attempting to associate aldama with the pp. on social media, spokesperson esther peña accused the pp of nervousness and of deploying an indicted criminal to sabotage the press event. she cited a video where aldama urged opposition leader alberto núñez feijóo to act against the government.

peña avoided direct media interaction, opting for prerecorded videos. since the scandal broke on may 26, neither moncloa nor ferraz have held press conferences to clarify their stance.

notably, the president has remained silent, a strategy set to continue until june 11, when he must face questions from opposition in congress. opposition parties complain that neither he nor his ministers respond adequately during parliamentary sessions.

amid uncertainty, one fact remains: the government and psoe refuse to take díez to court. unlike the pp, vox, a civil guard association, and two other plaintiffs in the hydrocarbons case, they maintain that since díez denies working for the psoe or government, there is no basis for prosecution.