Tag: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

• Wednesday, June 17th 2026 - 08:31 UTC

  Spain's ex-PM Zapatero testifies as a suspect in the Plus Ultra bailout case

  

  Spain's former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero appeared on Wednesday before Judge José Luis Calama, of the Audiencia Nacional, as an investigated person in the Plus Ultra case, in what constitutes an unprecedented event in Spanish democracy: it is the first time a former head of the Executive sits before a magistrate as a suspect. He will answer questions from the judge and his lawyer, but not from the Anti-Corruption prosecutor.

• Monday, May 25th 2026 - 01:06 UTC

  Spanish police investigate Plus Ultra bailout scheme, linking Zapatero with Maduro's circle

  

  The Spanish National Police's Economic and Tax Crime Unit (UDEF) considers that former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero may have exercised “non-visible leadership” in an alleged influence network that facilitated the EUR 53 million bailout of airline Plus Ultra during the covid-19 pandemic. The report, comprising more than 300 pages and submitted to National Court judge José Luis Calama, was disclosed on Saturday by the outlet Infobae España and forms part of the judicial file investigating the maneuvers to obtain the public aid from the State Industrial Holdings Company (SEPI) in 2021.

• Sunday, September 8th 2024 - 18:36 UTC

  Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González arrives in Spain after receiving political asylum

  

  Edmundo González Urrutia, a prominent Venezuelan opposition leader who was elected, to many in the international community, as the legitimate winner of the July 28 presidential election, arrived in Spain this Sunday after being granted political asylum by the Spanish government. González had sought refuge at the Dutch Embassy in Caracas before securing his passage out of the country.

• Friday, January 14th 2022 - 20:13 UTC

  Former Spanish PMs support dialogue between Argentina, UK over Falklands

  

  Argentine President Alberto Fernández Friday thanked former Spanish Prime Ministers for their support to resuming dialogue with the United Kingdom over the Falklands / Malvinas issue.

• Wednesday, December 1st 2021 - 09:54 UTC

  Latin American left wing leaders expecting progressive victories in Chile and Brazil

  

  The Puebla Group, a gathering of left-wing leaders from Latin America and Spain held a meeting in Mexico on Tuesday to celebrate the victory of Xiomara Castro in the Honduran presidential election and looked forward to similar triumphs by Chilean candidate Gabriel Boric in December and hopefully Lula da Silva next year in Brazil.

• Thursday, May 17th 2018 - 08:53 UTC

  Brazil reacts strongly to EU ex-leaders asking for Lula to run for office

  

  Brazil on Wednesday lashed out at a demand by former European leaders for disgraced ex-president Lula da Silva to be allowed to take part in elections this year. A group of former EU left leaning leaders, including French ex-president Francois Holland and Spanish former prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, called Lula's imprisonment for corruption “hurried” and said he should be “free to present himself before Brazilian voters.”

• Wednesday, June 22nd 2016 - 05:59 UTC

  OAS listens to mediators' appeal for government/opposition dialogue in Venezuela

  

  Addressing the OAS Permanent Council, former Spanish president Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said that reconciliation is an indispensable and essential challenge to overcome the current confrontation situation in Venezuela, and although it will be a long, difficult process, he recommends dialogue efforts should continue.

• Thursday, October 20th 2011 - 21:25 UTC

  Basque ETA group calls a “definitive cessation” of hostilities, reports BBC

  

  The Basque separatist group ETA says it has called a “definitive cessation” to its campaign of bombings and shootings. In a statement provided to the BBC, Eta called on the Spanish and French governments to respond with “a process of direct dialogue”.

• Saturday, October 8th 2011 - 08:20 UTC

  Chronicle of a foretold cut: Fitch downgrades Italy and Spain’s credit rating

  

  Fitch cut on Friday Italy's sovereign credit rating by one notch and Spain's by two, citing a worsening of the Euro zone debt crisis and a risk of fiscal slippage in both countries. Fitch cut Italy's rating to A+ from AA- and lowered Spain to AA- from AA+.

• Monday, September 26th 2011 - 17:10 UTC

  Spanish Conservatives poised for absolute majority in November election

  

  Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero dissolved parliament on Monday, but pledged more measures to tackle Spain's economic crisis before a November election that is expected to hand power to the conservative opposition.