Torres says the UCO will prove it didn't request “bribes”

Ángel Víctor Torres, the Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, asserted on Wednesday that an “imminent” report from the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Guardia Civil will confirm that he has never:

• asked for “bribes” (mordidas)
• benefited from commissions
• been involved with women who were sexually exploited

“Señor Torres, the same thing Santos Cerdán said and he is in prison,” retorted the People’s Party (PP) deputy Jaime de Olano.

Olano used his question to Torres during the congressional control session to demand that the minister disclose what the forthcoming UCO document will contain, after media reports indicated that the Guardia Civil is about to make it public.

Olano’s Interrogation

Olano pressed Torres to clarify whether the UCO report would address:

• the alleged use of a “refinery to launder oil from the Venezuelan narcodictatorship,” or
• the “Royal building and the company La Levantina, a favourite of José Luis Ábalos for shady dealings.”

He added:

“Mr Torres, your opportunities are running out. Don’t let the applause of the socialist bench fool you. They cheered far more for Ábalos and Zerdán.”

Torres responded that the report would state he never asked for bribes, never profited from commissions, and never associated with sexually exploited women. He accused the opposition of “fueling and promoting” such accusations and claimed they “lack any moral stature or ethical decency to apologize for harming people and their surroundings.”

Olano rebuked Torres for employing the same “modus operandi” used by former socialist leaders and even the prime minister’s wife: a blanket denial followed by “lies and more lies,” and, when confronted with evidence, a retreat to “the mantra of rumors and mud.”

“They denied the parties with prostitutes at the Parador de Teruel, the contract rigging and bribes, the cash envelopes and the illegal financing of the PSOE that the UCO report does point out, but when the Guardia Civil arrives we know the truth,” warned the PP deputy.

The “Envelopes” of Patxi López

Olano also referenced “money bags that flow into Ferraz and are distributed among PSOE leaders in envelopes bearing the fist‑and‑rose logo.” He mocked socialist spokesperson Patxi López for claiming that cash also circulates in the Congress:

“It must be the Socialist Group’s offices, because, of course, not in my party. What envelopes will Mr López receive to make such a claim?”

According to Olano, it is impossible that the PSOE has no envelopes, noting that “Sanchismo was born from envelopes full of money coming from the brothels of its political family.” He added that “Sanchismo will disappear thanks to the money‑filled envelopes that also stem from corruption.”

“You Have No Credibility”

In his second turn, Torres turned the tables, arguing that the PP lacks credibility when demanding political accountability. He suggested that, for a minimum of credibility, the PP should ask:

• Isabel Díaz Ayuso, president of the Community of Madrid, about the treatment of women in care homes during the pandemic;
• Juanma Moreno, president of Andalusia, about the delay in breast‑cancer screening;
• Carlos Mazón, president of the Valencian Community, about his handling of the recent flood (la dana).

“When you do that you will have a minimum of credibility. Meanwhile you continue with lies, tension, infamy, defamation, while we, gentlemen, are governing and working,” concluded Torres.