The general director of the Civil Guard, Mercedes González, and the deputy operational director (DAO), Manuel Llamas, testify this Wednesday at the National Court as defendants in the investigations into an alleged plot organized by the former socialist militant Leire Díez to hinder judicial cases that affect the Government and the PSOE.
In both cases, both Judge Santiago Pedraz and the Prosecutor’s Office attribute alleged crimes of prevarication and obstruction of justice. The first refers to the possible adoption of arbitrary decisions by a public authority or official knowing that they are unjust. The second refers to possible actions aimed at hindering the normal functioning of an investigation or judicial procedure.
The accusation does not automatically imply a conviction, but rather the magistrate considers that there are indications that must be investigated. The investigation seeks to clarify whether the leadership of the Civil Guard promoted internal actions that could have had the purpose of interfering in ongoing investigations or conditioning the work of certain agents.
The role of Mercedes González
Judge Pedraz investigates the meetings that Mercedes González had with Leire Díez, after the UCO indicated that both met on several occasions and that these contacts could have given rise to internal actions against the elite unit of the Civil Guard.
According to the investigation, the former socialist militant maintained “various telephone communications” and three accredited meetings with the political head of the Armed Institute. Specifically, they would have met on September 30, 2024, December 20 of that same year and April 2, 2025.
González ended up admitting these meetings in his appearance in the Senate on June 16, but emphasized that They just had a coffee to talk about banal matters. The judge and the Prosecutor’s Office do not have the same opinion.
The involvement of Manuel Llamas
Manuel Llamas, for his part, is being investigated for alleged pressure to stop the UCO’s actions in some judicial investigations. Specifically, the judge charged Llamas after the UCO stated in a report that the person who was head of the unit between 2023 and 2025, Rafael Yuste, revealed pressure from the DAO and Leonardo Marcos to “put on profile” in the judicial investigation into David Sánchez, brother of the President of the Government.
The Prosecutor’s Office maintains that the actions attributed to the deputy operational director could have “generated a discouraging effect” on the agents in charge of the investigations, an issue that the judge must now clarify.
The judicial situation of both leaves a feeling of “astonishment” in the Civil Guard. “We are in a situation that we still can’t quite believe”confesses a commander consulted by this newspaper. A few words that reflect the impact of an image that will be forever recorded in the National Court: one of the darkest days in the history of the Armed Institute.