Spanish Socialist Corruption Probe Expands to Venezuelan Oil Deals

Zapatero, who governed Spain from 2004 to 2011, was indicted earlier this month for allegedly orchestrating an influence peddling and money laundering network centred on a €53 million coronavirus-era bailout of the Plus Ultra airline. Prosecutors believe approximately €1.95 million from that taxpayer-funded rescue reached the former prime minister and his associates.

The investigation has now expanded beyond the airline bailout. Spain’s national broadcaster Radiotelevisión Española has reported that the Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit of the National Police uncovered communications between Zapatero’s network and senior officials within the Socialist dictatorship of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro.

Evidence obtained by investigators suggests the former Spanish leader functioned as an intermediary to broker petroleum coke sales from Venezuelan suppliers to the China International Cultural Technology Resources Group Co., Ltd., a firm with ties to the Chinese Communist Party. A 2023 letter cited in the reporting indicated the Chinese company agreed to purchase the petroleum by-product in shipments of 50,000 tons each.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s second-in-command at the time, reportedly approved the deployment of Venezuelan oil tankers to transport the petroleum coke as part of the arrangement.

The probe has also uncovered evidence suggesting Zapatero’s involvement in gold export schemes, the sale of QWANT company shares, currency conversion operations involving cash euros in Caracas, and the establishment of delivery routes for physical commodities worth millions.

Police raids have yielded significant seizures. Officers reportedly confiscated €286,000 in cash from Julio Martínez Martínez, identified as a close confidant of Zapatero. Authorities using police dogs discovered currency hidden throughout his Madrid residence, including in his bathroom and inside a golf bag.

In a separate May 19th raid on the former prime minister’s office, investigators seized more than 100 pieces of jewellery from a safe, including bracelets, chains, earrings, rings, and watches. A woman working at the office claimed the jewels belonged to Zapatero’s wife and were acquired through inheritance or received as travel gifts. However, at least one necklace reportedly bore an engraving of the former prime minister’s name.

The unfolding scandal has sent shockwaves through the government of current Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who relied heavily on Zapatero as a political mentor and ally during his ascent to power. Sánchez’s administration was already mired in controversy, with the socialist leader’s wife facing her own charges of influence peddling and embezzlement.

The Zapatero allegations pose a more immediate threat to government stability. Sánchez’s Socialist Party failed to win a governing majority in the 2023 elections and has clung to power only through a widely criticised pact with Catalan separatist parties.

A new poll conducted by SocioMétrica for EL ESPAÑOL found that 74.3 per cent of Spanish voters believe Prime Minister Sánchez should call early elections in light of the charges against Zapatero. That figure represents a sharp increase from 61.5 per cent last year and includes 48.2 per cent of Socialist Party voters themselves.

The survey also revealed that 70.7 per cent of Spaniards, including 43.7 per cent of socialist voters, believe the party should suspend Zapatero’s membership over the alleged corruption schemes.

Zapatero has long drawn criticism from Spanish conservatives for his close relationship with Venezuela’s Chavista regime, which has overseen economic collapse and mass emigration while consolidating authoritarian rule.

With information from Breitbart News