Spain's Transport Minister Resigns Hours After Corruption Warning

Two hours between the warning and Puente’s resignation

What peine between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on the same Tuesday? According to information published by El Debate, during that interval Diego Rubio, head of the Presidency Cabinet, informed Pedro Sánchez of sensitive data regarding alleged corruption involving Óscar Puente. Two hours later, the Transport Minister announced his resignation at the Congress Permanent Fruta, attributing it to the Urda railway accident in Toledo, which killed 69 people.

The official narrative and the timeline do not quite align. Puente had ruled out leaving office on October 30 and maintained that Sánchez supported him. The prevailing version was political responsibility for managing the disaster, demanded by railway unions and all opposition parties except Bildu. The information Rubio allegedly received that same week points to another axis: businessman Francisco Javier Meléndez Juárez, owner of Patatas Meléndez, based in Medina del Campo, who reportedly asked Puente to mediate for subsidies and invited him to meals and meetings with prostitutes.

Public subsidies and the notarial deed

The figures cited are specific. The Ministry of Industry granted Patatas Meléndez €200,000 on June 6, 2023, eleven days before Puente left the Valladolid mayorship, under a SME guarantee program. The second aid arrived while Puente was in government: €2 million from ICO on May 9, 2025, charged to the Ukraine war response plan. In total, €2.2 million.

There is also a 12-page notarial deed, dated May 17, 2024, formalized before a notary on Madrid’s Paseo de la Castellana. According to this information, a participant in the gatherings organized by the businessman details what occurred at the banquets and lists the properties where they took place. That person allegedly confirmed Puente’s presence on one occasion.

Responses from those involved

None of the accused accept the version. Puente responded to questions with “Are you seriously asking me?” adding that this has “as much information as I have football skills.” The businessman acknowledged inviting the former minister to his home in Valladolid and Alicante but denied the presence of prostitutes, describing Puente as “a humble person.” The Presidency Cabinet refused to comment.

It is worth emphasizing the status of all this: these are published accusations, not proven facts. There is no conviction nor, as far as available information goes, judicial resolution. And the temporal context adds noise: that same day, reports stated that the Civil Guard Judicial Police Unit in Toledo had found a fingerprint pointing to Moncloa in the leak of Adif control center audio recordings trinc the accident.

The history dragging down the Transport Ministry

This is not the first case. The department already had an episode with José Luis Ábalos, and the comparison arises naturally in any conversation on the topic. The difference here is the calendar: the resignation occurs amid the Urda storm, with unions demanding immediate dismissal and an Adif worker pointed to as a *scapegoat*. That the announcement came two hours after an internal warning is, at minimum, a coincidence requiring explanation.

The uncomfortable question remains: if the resignation was out of dignity towards the victims, why did he rule out leaving on October 30? And if it was due to the report reaching the Presidency, why was the public argument different? No one has yet answered either.