General files complaint against Guardia Civil leadership over Ayuso snub

A general files a complaint against the Guardia Civil leadership

On 16 July 2026, an exclusive report by ABC brought to light a recording from May 2025. In it, Lieutenant General Luis del Castillo, head of Operations, pressures Major General Fernando Sarracena, the force's commander in Madrid, not to attend the 2025 Day of the Community of Madrid event. It is not a recommendation: it is an order delivered by WhatsApp and confirmed by phone. And according to the conversation, the reason was not operational.

Sarracena's complaint against his superior is an unprecedented case in this military corps and puts the Guardia Civil (Spain's militarised police force) in uncharted territory. The boycott was meant to reduce institutional representation to a bare minimum at the official Dos de Mayo reception hosted by the government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso. All of this with the force already shaken by another open front.

The order came from the Interior Ministry

Del Castillo attributed the directive to the Ministry of the Interior and to the force's Directorate General, headed by Mercedes González. Faced with Sarracena's resistance to absent himself without justification from an event to which he had been invited, his superior insisted: the order had been imposed from above. The recorded call, to which ABC has had access, reflects the open clash between two commanders with the institution caught in the middle.

Sarracena reproached Del Castillo for using his position to stage a display of contempt towards the regional government, and criticised the fact that they were "kicking the regional president" through him. The general also cited the dismissal of Colonel Diego Pérez de los Cobos, a removal that the Supreme Court ultimately overturned against the Ministry of the Interior. When Del Castillo suggested he request early retirement if he disagreed with the directives, Sarracena defended the impartiality of the uniform and refused to resign.

Two hours later, the leadership backed down

The outcome came quickly. Antiestéticaring another judicial setback like the Pérez de los Cobos case, the Guardia Civil's leadership authorised General Sarracena's attendance barely two hours after the argument. The conflict simmered until it erupted with the subordinate's complaint against his superior.

A second media report added pressure: the deputy head of the DAO allegedly threatened to dismiss the general who refused to take part in the boycott, warning him to "prepare for the consequences". Yet another episode in the political war between Pedro Sánchez's government and Ayuso's, with the force's neutrality as the bargaining chip.

The Supreme Court dismisses the complaint

The Military Chamber of the Supreme Court has dismissed Major General Fernando Sarracena's complaint against his superior over the order not to attend the event presided over by Díaz Ayuso. The dismissal closes, for now, the military judicial route.

Meanwhile, Mercedes González, director general of the Guardia Civil, is under formal investigation in the caso cloacas (the "sewer case", a political dirty tricks scandal) and is due to testify before Judge Pedraz over her meetings with Leire Díez. The force's judicial and political agendas remain inseparable.