The three cronies of Pedro Sánchez's resurgence

The loyalty shown to Pedro Sánchez by José Luis Ábalos and Santos Cerdán was rewarded. From Valencia and Navarre, they sought support for him to be elected by the PSOE membership in 2014 and, especially, in the 2017 primaries, when Sánchez decided to try to regain control of the party after being expelled by the party establishment. Few believed in him. His support was a gamble, all or nothing. A third man saw the same trick and joined the bandwagon: Koldo García, a self-made man who went from goalkeeper to bodyguard. It worked out well for them, until they were discovered.

To understand how they all got to the point they are in, the connection between Cerdán and García, outlined by the Civil Guard's Central Operational Unit (UCO) , is revealing. The two had known each other since 2013, but their connection went further in 2015. Agents have discovered that they used a third person as a cover to invoice through a bar that was paid by Acciona, which received public contracts in Navarra, when Cerdán was already part of the party.

When Sánchez called him to Madrid, García appointed Ábalos as his driver. Despite the fact that he took him, tensions between the two had already begun. García wrote a note on his phone in August 2017 with several issues he needed to discuss with his partner. He intended to criticize him for not taking him into consideration after all he was doing for the party in Navarra. García wanted a financial reward.

And he succeeded. In October, he signed his employment contract with the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party). According to data from the Tax Agency, García's contract was for a manager, even if he was merely a driver. Cerdán wanted his man close to Ábalos. Six months later, in May 2018, Pedro Sánchez came to power after a vote of no confidence against Mariano Rajoy for corruption within his party. The Valencian leader gained more power when he was appointed Minister of Transport. He brought García on as an advisor and even made him a director of Renfe (Renfe). In that last year, the ties between García, Santos, and Ábalos were already very close, to the point that it was discovered that in June 2018, Ábalos's daughter was demanding a payment of €4,400 from García. Cerdán would be the one to tell her how to do it.

Before entering the Government Ábalos, Cerdán and García were already closely related

Despite appearing to be a well-matched trio, conversations between García and his wife in March 2018 already hinted at betrayal. "I don't know if Santos is a fool or wants to ruin your relationship with Barriguitas (Ábalos); and then Pequeño (Cerdán) wants you to tell him things so he can sell you out." García responds: "We're going as if they're dying." Two months after arriving at the Ministry, Ábalos had already received Acciona at Cerdán's request. And by November, Cerdán was already fully involved in the decision-making process regarding which company should be awarded certain contracts, to the point of being "obsessed," as García himself admitted. The assault on the Ministry was immediate.

Around the same time, Cerdán tried to get Ábalos a job at Indra, a company owned by Sepi and closely linked to Transport. But Ábalos didn't even bother to reply. "It's unacceptable that he doesn't read my WhatsApp messages; but if you're always ignoring someone, who doesn't read WhatsApp messages or respond to anyone covering his game, do you think it's worth it?" Cerdán complained to García. He had to go to Sánchez, who refused.

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Five months later, García began recording Cerdán and Ábalos. It was his life insurance policy. "I admit that 47 companies have come here, I've helped all of them. They've given me baby eels, champagne, wine, a ham—I mean, it's true that I've received gifts," García admitted to Cerdán. "Well, there's a lot of noise about me," the latter admitted in April 2021. During those years, it also became known that Abalos and García were complicit in hiring prostitutes.

Several warnings to Sánchez ended with the Valencian president being struck down in July. Cerdán—until now his deputy in the party—took his place and could protect them from there. But Cerdán, with growing power within the PSOE, was warned that García was being investigated and imposed a cordon sanitaire. “Get Santos to see me for five minutes, and I'll get you 450,000. I know how to do it. He'll laugh his fucking ass off,” García told Ábalos at the end of 2023. That day they said goodbye: “I'm going to take the motorcycle. I can't afford a car, man. One day you're in a car, the next day you're walking.” Car, motorcycle, walking... and a van like the one that took him to the National Court after his arrest three months later.