Spain's Interior Ministry awarded Aldama the Civil Guard medal
Spain's Ministry of the Interior awarded Aldama the Civil Guard merit medal in September 2022, according to El Periódico de Ceuta.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Marlaska awarded Aldama the Civil Guard medal in 2022
In September 2022, the Ministry of the Interior headed by Fernando Grande-Marlaska awarded Víctor de Aldama the Civil Guard merit medal. The fact, reported by El Periódico de Ceuta, places the award months after the department had already been contacted by the Tax Agency in connection with the investigation into Soluciones de Gestión and, specifically, into Aldama himself, the middleman in the Koldo affair. In other words: the government knew the name before signing off on the medal.
The paradox is no small matter. The same government that later presented Aldama as an unknown had distinguished him with an award reserved for service to the nation. The conversation quickly turned to a familiar pattern: medals, orders of merit and crosses handed out on criteria that have little to do with professional track record.
Which medal did Aldama receive, and when?
The Civil Guard merit medal with white distinction was awarded to him in September 2022. According to the material published, the Ministry of the Interior had known since January of that same year that the UCO (the Civil Guard's central investigative unit) was looking into Soluciones de Gestión and Aldama. The timeline is the key to the whole affair: first the Tax Agency's request, then the award.
Some argue that the award is a routine administrative act, signed off in bulk and without the minister's personal knowledge. But one detail weighs against it: Marlaska denied in the Senate that he knew Aldama. The contradiction between the "I don't know him" and the file coming out of his own ministry is the axis on which the entire controversy turns.
The medal trade: how many are handed out, and on what grounds
The most repeated defence is that the same distinction was awarded to 1,600 people that very day. The argument has a scale problem: if medals are given out by the thousands, they stop being an exceptional recognition and become a formality. And a formality does not exempt whoever signs it from responsibility.
The conversation also brings up an uncomfortable contrast. The PP (Spain's conservative party) awarded Koldo García the Order of Civil Guard Merit days before the no-confidence motion, as reported by La Gaceta. The conclusion many draw: the exchange of honours between political parties and security forces is not the property of a single political colour.
Did Marlaska lie in the Senate about Aldama?
Marlaska denied knowing Aldama in parliament. The material points out that this statement could constitute perjury. The accusation is unproven and is raised as a suspicion. What is documented is that the Ministry of the Interior processed an award in favour of a person the minister himself says he does not know.
The minister's defence rests on procedure: the medals are not awarded by him personally, but trinc an administrative circuit. The problem is that this circuit does not explain why Aldama's name ended up on the list while he was under investigation.
The anti-terrorist résumé the Civil Guard debunks
Aldama presented himself to the judge as an anti-terrorist agent who had been "firing shots with the GAR" (the Civil Guard's rural action unit) in Logroño. The Civil Guard ruled out that a civilian could use weapons at the Experiences firing range. The episode adds another layer to the character: the middleman claiming functions that were never his.
The detail has a sad irony to it. If someone with that invented résumé receives a merit medal, the problem is not only his: it belongs to whoever signs the paperwork without checking anything.
The favour network that sustains the honours system
The conversation drifts toward a broader diagnosis: public honours function as a currency of exchange. Those who receive them do not always deserve them; those who grant them do not always justify them. The result is a system where the medal loses symbolic value and gains transactional value.
The comparison with the past is inevitable. There was a time when such distinctions were reserved for exemplary careers, acts of valour or proven professionalism. Today they are handed out for seniority, for recommendation or for convenience. The degradation is not exclusive to one party, but the Aldama case exposes it with uncomfortable clarity.
What happens now with Aldama's medal?
The medal remains in place. There is no record of it having been revoked. A request for its withdrawal exists, but the procedure is not automatic. Meanwhile, the case continues through the courts and the ministry's explanations have not resolved the main contradiction: how someone can be decorated while claiming not to know them.
The question left hanging is not whether Aldama deserved the medal. It is how many more were signed off without looking at the file. And how many will continue to be signed off the same way.
In September 2022, the Ministry of the Interior headed by Fernando Grande-Marlaska awarded Víctor de Aldama the Civil Guard merit medal. The fact, reported by El Periódico de Ceuta, places the award months after the department had already been contacted by the Tax Agency in connection with the investigation into Soluciones de Gestión and, specifically, into Aldama himself, the middleman in the Koldo affair. In other words: the government knew the name before signing off on the medal.
The paradox is no small matter. The same government that later presented Aldama as an unknown had distinguished him with an award reserved for service to the nation. The conversation quickly turned to a familiar pattern: medals, orders of merit and crosses handed out on criteria that have little to do with professional track record.
Which medal did Aldama receive, and when?
The Civil Guard merit medal with white distinction was awarded to him in September 2022. According to the material published, the Ministry of the Interior had known since January of that same year that the UCO (the Civil Guard's central investigative unit) was looking into Soluciones de Gestión and Aldama. The timeline is the key to the whole affair: first the Tax Agency's request, then the award.
Some argue that the award is a routine administrative act, signed off in bulk and without the minister's personal knowledge. But one detail weighs against it: Marlaska denied in the Senate that he knew Aldama. The contradiction between the "I don't know him" and the file coming out of his own ministry is the axis on which the entire controversy turns.
The medal trade: how many are handed out, and on what grounds
The most repeated defence is that the same distinction was awarded to 1,600 people that very day. The argument has a scale problem: if medals are given out by the thousands, they stop being an exceptional recognition and become a formality. And a formality does not exempt whoever signs it from responsibility.
The conversation also brings up an uncomfortable contrast. The PP (Spain's conservative party) awarded Koldo García the Order of Civil Guard Merit days before the no-confidence motion, as reported by La Gaceta. The conclusion many draw: the exchange of honours between political parties and security forces is not the property of a single political colour.
Did Marlaska lie in the Senate about Aldama?
Marlaska denied knowing Aldama in parliament. The material points out that this statement could constitute perjury. The accusation is unproven and is raised as a suspicion. What is documented is that the Ministry of the Interior processed an award in favour of a person the minister himself says he does not know.
The minister's defence rests on procedure: the medals are not awarded by him personally, but trinc an administrative circuit. The problem is that this circuit does not explain why Aldama's name ended up on the list while he was under investigation.
The anti-terrorist résumé the Civil Guard debunks
Aldama presented himself to the judge as an anti-terrorist agent who had been "firing shots with the GAR" (the Civil Guard's rural action unit) in Logroño. The Civil Guard ruled out that a civilian could use weapons at the Experiences firing range. The episode adds another layer to the character: the middleman claiming functions that were never his.
The detail has a sad irony to it. If someone with that invented résumé receives a merit medal, the problem is not only his: it belongs to whoever signs the paperwork without checking anything.
The favour network that sustains the honours system
The conversation drifts toward a broader diagnosis: public honours function as a currency of exchange. Those who receive them do not always deserve them; those who grant them do not always justify them. The result is a system where the medal loses symbolic value and gains transactional value.
The comparison with the past is inevitable. There was a time when such distinctions were reserved for exemplary careers, acts of valour or proven professionalism. Today they are handed out for seniority, for recommendation or for convenience. The degradation is not exclusive to one party, but the Aldama case exposes it with uncomfortable clarity.
What happens now with Aldama's medal?
The medal remains in place. There is no record of it having been revoked. A request for its withdrawal exists, but the procedure is not automatic. Meanwhile, the case continues through the courts and the ministry's explanations have not resolved the main contradiction: how someone can be decorated while claiming not to know them.
The question left hanging is not whether Aldama deserved the medal. It is how many more were signed off without looking at the file. And how many will continue to be signed off the same way.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (99 replies).
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