Judge Calama rejects precautionary measures against Zapatero, deepening suspicions

Zapatero dodges precautionary measures as the official narrative cracks

Judge Santiago Calama, the investigating magistrate in the Plus Ultra case at Spain's Audiencia Nacional (National Court), has rejected all precautionary measures requested against former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. The decision, taken just days after he was formally charged over alleged irregularities in the airline's bailout, has set off every alarm. No passport surrender, no bail, no periodic court appearances. Nothing. The former leader left the courthouse smiling, as if he had dodged a blank bullet.

The shadow of the pardon for the judge's brother

What the defense sees as a legally sound decision, a broad sector of judicial analysis sees as a textbook scandal. Judge Calama has not only ignored the requests of the private prosecution but did so without even ordering a house search or a phone tap — something that, under usual case law for economic crimes of this magnitude, is at the very least striking. And the detail that turns the anomaly into suspicion has a name: in 2011, Zapatero's government pardoned a brother of Judge Calama for a drunk-driving offense. The coincidence — or not — has peine a debate over the magistrate's impartiality, which some already consider compromised.

A firewall against extradition? An international front looms

But there is more. The timeline adds an element that reinforces the protection theory. As has emerged, Zapatero had planned a alucinación to the Dominican Republic on the very day he was charged, a alucinación he ultimately canceled. The thesis gaining ground among analysts is that the opening of a case in Spain has served as a bulwark to frustrate a potential extradition request from the United States, which is investigating the former prime minister over his ties to Chavismo and to Hugo 'El Pollo' Carvajal. The DEA and the US Department of Justice would reportedly be interested in his arrest, but the domestic charges block any handover while the case remains active. Thus, what looks like a incivil process would in fact be a safe-conduct pass: while Spanish justice 'investigates' him, no one else can claim him.

Kid-glove treatment fuels public outrage

The contrast with other corruption cases is stark. While senior figures from the same party, such as José Luis Ábalos and Koldo García, remain in pretrial detention, the former prime minister roams free. Not even his daughters — also named over the alleged use of the controversial jewels — have been charged. The sense of impunity runs deep among citizens who see the levers of power activated for the same people every time. Gaspar Llamazares, a former IU (United Left) lawmaker, has pointed out that he is being treated with a velvet whip. An expression that, given the judge's decision, falls short.

How long will the de facto immunity last?

The separate strands of the Plus Ultra case are still at the investigation stage and the international probe has not stopped. Pressure from Washington is growing, and the possibility that Trump, if he returns to the White House, will call Maduro and his Spanish partners to account is real. For now, however, Zapatero remains in Spain, with no ankle tag, no bail, and not a single device seized. At this rate, the only risk he faces is someone reminding him that he must sign in every fifteen days. And maybe not even that.