Ayuso demands answers over terror-linked groups at Madrid's Sol camp

Ayuso demands answers over terror-linked groups at Madrid's Sol camp

What is really going on at the Puerta del Sol camp in Madrid? The president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, demanded explanations from the Government Delegation (the central government's representative office in the region) over the presence at the camp of an organisation said to have a terrorist background and ties to Hamas. She did so during the PP's «Por Fin» event at the Madrid trade fair grounds, and the warning did not fall on deaf ears: the regional minister for Housing, Transport and Infrastructure, Jorge Rodrigo, sent a letter to the Government Delegate in Madrid, Francisco Martín, to alert him to the risk the encampment poses to public transport users.

Attention focused on Sol station, closed for cleaning after a technical report which, according to the regional government, detected "highly toxic" gases and a "risk of bicho" in the underground. The regional government maintains that the camp compromises the safety of the line, while the official account speaks of maintenance work. Two versions that do not quite add up.

Who is behind the Sol camp

The visible faces of the Tenants' Union are said to have left the square, according to published reports, and the space is said to have been taken over by a constellation of far-left groups. Among them, Samidoun stands out, a pro-Palestinian network designated as a terrorist organisation in the United States, Germany and Canada, which led the boycott of the 2025 Vuelta a España cycling race. The square, according to these same sources, is covered in Palestinian flags.

The timeline is no coincidence. Three days before Ayuso issued her warning, the so-called "red church" of Entrevías hosted an event with two members of that organisation on the anniversary of the October 7 massacre. The sequence fuels the thesis that this is not a spontaneous camp.

Incidents, threats and a gun in the camp

Incidents keep piling up. A police officer noticed something strange inside the site and, on approaching, was heckled by several individuals; the scuffle led to more police arriving. A Telemadrid journalist was assaulted on Hortaleza street. And a young Spanish man of Maghrebi origin who had spent several days inside the movement was arrested for threatening several people with a gun: "I'm going to slash you and shoot you," according to testimony gathered.

Some argue these episodes prove the infiltration of violent elements; against that weighs the argument that these are isolated cases and that the police response is disproportionate. What is certain is that life in the square has deteriorated.

The precedent of Metro Line 6

Madrid Metro Line 6 is running in trial phase with driverless trains as part of the process of autonomous automation of the lines. That circumstance makes the underground an especially sensitive node: a false bomb alert already forced the evacuation of Nuevos Ministerios one day after the Charlie Hebdo attack in January 2015. The memory of that episode hangs over the current closure of Sol.

The political backdrop and the shadow of electoral fraud

In parallel, polls are circulating that give the PSOE more than 34% of voting intention and up to 152 seats, figures that some quarters read as a statistical anomaly rather than a survey. Street agitation, social discontent and distrust of institutions form a cocktail that does not invite optimism.

The question is no longer how the campers are described, but what they are doing there and who answers for whatever happens. Nobody takes responsibility for what is inside. And meanwhile, the station remains closed.