World

Spain: Guardia Civil chief appears in court and claims to be victim of Díez plot

Herz — World Desk · 17 July 2026 at 13:22 · 30s summary · 3 min read

The essentials

Mercedes González, director general of Spain's Guardia Civil, appeared before Judge Santiago Pedraz at the Audiencia Nacional de Madrid on July 17, 2026. She denied any obstruction of judicial inquiries and claimed to be a "victim" of a plot attributed to Santos Cerdán, a former PSOE official, and ex-socialist activist Leire Díez. Her testimony lasted more than an hour and a half. The anti-corruption prosecutor had charged her in early July with abuse of authority and obstruction of justice. A disagreement persists over the number of meetings between González and Díez.

González appeared in court on July 17 at the Audiencia Nacional de Madrid.
She denied any obstruction and claimed to be victim of the Cerdán-Díez plot.
The anti-corruption prosecutor charged her with abuse of authority and obstruction.
Her deputy Llamas testified the day before and denied pressuring investigators.
A disagreement continues over the number of meetings between González and Díez.

Espagne : la directrice de la Guardia Civil comparaît mise en examen et se dit « victime » de la trame Díez — Dickelbers, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

What we know

Mercedes González, director general of Spain's Guardia Civil, appeared before Judge Santiago Pedraz at the Audiencia Nacional de Madrid on July 17, 2026, according to El País.

González denied any collaboration with what she called a "sewer" and stated that Leire Díez had never asked her to obstruct inquiries. Her testimony lasted more than an hour and a half.

She claimed to be a "victim" of a plot she attributes to Santos Cerdán, a former PSOE organizational secretary, and ex-socialist activist Leire Díez. These two allegedly sought to "destabilize" judicial proceedings sensitive to the PSOE, the government, or President Sánchez's circle.

González's appearance, originally scheduled for Thursday July 16, was postponed to Friday because her deputy's hearing ran longer than expected.

Her deputy testified the day before

Manuel Llamas, deputy operational director of the Guardia Civil, testified for nearly two hours on July 16. He denied pressuring judicial investigators to remain uninvolved in cases affecting the PSOE, the government, and President Sánchez's circle.

What she is accused of

In early July 2026, Judge Pedraz approved González's indictment and Llamas's summons at the request of the anti-corruption prosecutor (Fiscalía Anticorrupción) for charges of abuse of authority (prevaricación) and obstruction of justice.

According to judicial investigators, González and Llamas allegedly activated internal administrative inquiries (informaciones reservadas) within the Guardia Civil to search for leaks. The Díez plot allegedly then sought to use these procedures as a mechanism to pressure and intimidate officials participating in judicial investigations.

Meetings between González and Díez

At their first meeting—held just 13 days after González took office—Díez merely congratulated her on her appointment. At the second, she raised the reinstatement of Commander Rubén Villalba, who is under investigation in the Koldo case, a separate judicial matter. González immediately refused and ended the meeting.

González stated that the two women had exchanged phone messages before their meetings and that Díez sent her news articles. She claims she did not maintain a good relationship with Cerdán and considers herself among his "victims."

What remains unclear

A disagreement persists over the exact number of meetings between González and Díez. Judicial investigators detected at least three meetings. The third is inferred from intercepted communication in which Díez mentioned a parking fine near the Guardia Civil directorate building.

González maintains she had only two meetings and claims the third does not appear in her calendar—a version she already defended when appearing before the Spanish Senate on June 16, 2026. Investigators also noted that Díez claimed to maintain "a very good personal relationship" with González and to "work with" her, which González contests.