The Ministry of the Interior continues to gauge the consequences of the earthquake that this week caused the resignation of the deputy operational director (DAO) of the National Police, José Ángel González –alias “Jota”–, after being reported for an alleged sexual assault on a subordinate. The team of Fernando Grande-Marlaska He wants to go to the end of the investigation, but with the aim that the minister is not affected. On a political and personal level.
The maximum these three days at number 5 Paseo de la Castellana, headquarters of the Security Department, is to defend the official version: Marlaska was unaware of the facts until last Tuesday, when the victim’s lawyer made the situation known. Of all the crises that the longest-serving Interior Minister in democracy has gone through, this is the most sensitive due to the events reported and the position affected. But among his closest collaborators the idea is that he has acted “forcefully” and “instantly” demanding the resignation of the main operational chief of the Police, especially when it was a man he fully trusted, appointed as soon as he took office back in 2018.
Interior wants to put the focus and responsibility on the leadership of the National Police. At all levels. The “reserved information” open to the commissioner Oscar San Juanformer advisor to the DAO and alleged coercer of the victim in exchange for his silence, seeks to obtain as much information as possible about what happened, how it happened and, above all, who knew it. In this process, all people who may have been involved will be heard, especially those who could have “covered it up.”
The sources consulted do not doubt that the director general of the National Police will go through this kind of “walk”, Francisco Pardo. Since the scandal broke, this political position has gone unnoticed. His name is not, at the moment, one of those mentioned. Neither in journalistic information nor in the Congress of Deputies, where on Wednesday the PP demanded Marlaska’s resignation. Pardo will have to elaborate on how his police chief’s aggression could have been hidden for ten months.
Next DAO
Pardo’s role is now twofold. First, clarify what happened in the institution you direct. But then, and not long after, choose who will be the next deputy operational director. In the last year, there has been a hidden war to become the next DAO, especially if the PP comes to power. The police “families” have been moving, but the resignation of “Jota”, and the circumstances in which it occurred, has caused a “shock”.
On Wednesday, Pardo summoned all senior officers to the Police headquarters in Canillas, Madrid. There he conveyed to them the “delicate” situation that the institution is going through. In addition, he confirmed to the deputy director of Human Resources, Gemma Barroso –the last boss the victim had before taking leave–, as interim DAO. It was the command to which he corresponded by rank. But she also made it clear that she would not be the one chosen. He conveyed the same to the head of the International Cooperation Division, Alicia Malo.
Thus, the race to be an operational director is closing. The sources consulted indicate two names as the best positioned. On the one hand, the head of the Training and Improvement Division, Javier Noguerolesa name that is the favorite in many sectors of the Corps, but more so for the future. The other is the deputy general director of Logistics and Innovation, Luis Carlos Espinoone of the creators of MiDNI, the application to carry your identity document on your mobile. Espino’s times “fit better” with the legislature, since he is retiring in less than a year. Pardo ate with both of them this Thursday, as this newspaper has learned exclusively.
Focus on embassies
According to the complaint, the former DAO used his advisor to “buy” her silence by offering her a “destination,” which she refused. The sources consulted indicate that it would be an embassy abroad, highly sought-after positions due to their high remuneration, which can reach 20,000 euros per month tax-free. As LA RAZÓN announced yesterday, those responsible for the aforementioned DCI were participants in the process of finding a position for the victim. This is the department that decides who wins those places.
The level of involvement remains to be determined, but both the DAO and his “trusted man” would have consulted with that section of the Police about the possibilities of sending the victim to a position in a diplomatic delegation abroad. The sources consulted suggest that there would be a “trace” of the movements of the former police chief with those “responsible” in “emails.”