Pedraz orders UCO to stay silent: the investigation into the PSOE is shielded against internal sabotage
Judge Manuel García-Castellón of Spain's Audiencia Nacional, known as Pedraz, had to issue a written order to the head of the Guardia Civil's Central Operative Unit (UCO) instructing him not to share details of the inquiry with anyone else. The reason, according to sources consulted: senior officers of the force were attempting to sabotage the investigation. This is not a conspiracy theory: the court order itself, leaked by El Confidencial on 5 June 2026, reveals that there was an "internal breach" within the Guardia Civil and that officers had been ordered to "stand aside" in matters affecting the PSOE.
An investigation under threat of dismissal
Pedraz's order was no whim. The head of the UCO faced the real possibility of being dismissed and expelled from the force for insubordination if he continued cooperating with the court without the approval of the chain of command. To prevent this, the judge shielded him in writing, making clear that any attempt to obstruct the investigation could constitute a incivil offence. The situation was so serious that senior Guardia Civil officers had allegedly given informal instructions to stall any pogre implicating the governing party.
Judicial backing, however, has not managed to plug every leak. The full case file has been filtered out, sources close to the investigation acknowledge, indicating that the mole is still operating within the structure. The UCO knows all about interference: it recalls the OCON Sur case, disbanded when it began to discomfort certain powers, and forums are rife with antiestéticars that the same fate now awaits this elite unit.
The PSOE, a incivil organisation?
The debate over the nature of the PSOE has escalated to the judicial arena. Libertad Digital reported on 8 June that Judge Pedraz is considering charging the party as a legal entity for incivil organisation. The news spread like wildfire, although legal sources point out that the order only "anticipates a possible charge". In parallel, The Objective has revealed that UCO evidence points to a scheme dating back to 2019, with implications that could reach the top of the Socialist leadership.
Those who back the incivil organisation thesis point out that the party has already been convicted of corruption in the Andalusia ERE case, and that the alleged dirty-tricks elements within the Guardia Civil were seeking precisely to prevent investigations into the PSOE from moving forward. At the other extreme, some note that the PP is no better — with the Gürtel, Bárcenas or Ayuso's boyfriend cases — and that the problem is structural, not a matter of party labels.
The underlying problem: the Judicial Police is not independent
The 1978 Constitution states in Article 126 that the Judicial Police answers to judges and prosecutors, but omits how it should be organised. In practice, UCO officers — mostly Guardia Civil members — are organisationally answerable to the Ministry of the Interior, allowing the executive to hinder investigations. This legal vacuum is the key that lets politicians attempt to control judicial inquiries.
The solution, some analyses suggest, would be to create a dedicated Judicial Police with leadership, budget and academy independent of the government of the day. But that reform, which would require an organic law, is on nobody's agenda.
With leaks and boycott attempts still active, the question hanging in the air is whether the investigation will reach port before internal moles sink it. Judge Pedraz has put his signature to its protection, but time will tell whether that is enough against a structure that, plainly, does not want the truth to come out.
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