Spain's Transport Minister Puente contradicts himself denying El Mundo report
Spanish minister Óscar Puente denies El Mundo's rail claim but cites incorrect ultrasound test dates, revealing contradictions.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Óscar Puente returns to Twitter to deny El Mundo but gets tangled in his own contradictions
The Minister of Transport returned to social media after a week of silence to deny El Mundo's information about the train accident that killed 45 people. However, the data he provided not only failed to dismantle the newspaper's version but added more confusion. Photos of the rail inscribed with 'Renfe 89' are public. Puente showed a certificate for a rail manufactured in 2023, but the broken weld contained two pieces: one from 1989 and another from 2023. The president of Adif (Spain's railway infrastructure administrator) had already acknowledged that the derailment occurred at the junction of both rails.
The proof that proves nothing
El Mundo reported that Iryo 6189 derailed when passing from a rail manufactured in 1989 to another from 2023. Puente responded with a certificate for a 2023 rail. But the issue is not that there was a new rail, but that the weld failed between the old and the new. A sensible analysis points out that both pieces exist: the photo of the rail with the manufacturing year engraved is common knowledge. The minister tries to divert attention to an individual certificate, when the problem is the transition.
Dates that don't add up
Another of Puente's claims on TVE was that the last ultrasound test on that track dated from November 2025. But Adif had reported that the test was in September. Hours later, the minister himself had to correct himself, admitting the error but labeling El Mundo's accurate information as a 'hoax'. This has generated a current of opinion considering that Puente deliberately falsifies data, while his defenders argue that the error is minor and that the opposition seeks to wear him down.
The squid strategy: flooding with versions
Since the accident, the government has launched at least four different versions: first it was the driver's fault, then the track, then a welding problem, and now that it could not be avoided. Each new intervention by Puente introduces more doubts. Those who defend him maintain that he is an intelligent politician who faces the music; his critics respond that he is a liar who confuses public opinion. The question left hanging is: how many more versions will be needed for the judicial investigation to clarify the facts?
—
The Adamuz accident has left 45 fatalities. This article analyzes the controversy surrounding the Minister's statements, without intending to issue a definitive judgment on responsibilities, which must be determined in court.
Related debates in the forum
The Minister of Transport returned to social media after a week of silence to deny El Mundo's information about the train accident that killed 45 people. However, the data he provided not only failed to dismantle the newspaper's version but added more confusion. Photos of the rail inscribed with 'Renfe 89' are public. Puente showed a certificate for a rail manufactured in 2023, but the broken weld contained two pieces: one from 1989 and another from 2023. The president of Adif (Spain's railway infrastructure administrator) had already acknowledged that the derailment occurred at the junction of both rails.
The proof that proves nothing
El Mundo reported that Iryo 6189 derailed when passing from a rail manufactured in 1989 to another from 2023. Puente responded with a certificate for a 2023 rail. But the issue is not that there was a new rail, but that the weld failed between the old and the new. A sensible analysis points out that both pieces exist: the photo of the rail with the manufacturing year engraved is common knowledge. The minister tries to divert attention to an individual certificate, when the problem is the transition.
Dates that don't add up
Another of Puente's claims on TVE was that the last ultrasound test on that track dated from November 2025. But Adif had reported that the test was in September. Hours later, the minister himself had to correct himself, admitting the error but labeling El Mundo's accurate information as a 'hoax'. This has generated a current of opinion considering that Puente deliberately falsifies data, while his defenders argue that the error is minor and that the opposition seeks to wear him down.
The squid strategy: flooding with versions
Since the accident, the government has launched at least four different versions: first it was the driver's fault, then the track, then a welding problem, and now that it could not be avoided. Each new intervention by Puente introduces more doubts. Those who defend him maintain that he is an intelligent politician who faces the music; his critics respond that he is a liar who confuses public opinion. The question left hanging is: how many more versions will be needed for the judicial investigation to clarify the facts?
—
The Adamuz accident has left 45 fatalities. This article analyzes the controversy surrounding the Minister's statements, without intending to issue a definitive judgment on responsibilities, which must be determined in court.
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