Tag: spain

SOCIALISTS GOING DOWN: Spanish Anti-Corruption Police Raid the Headquarters of PM Sánchez’s PSOE Party in Probe of Illegal Funding

The Spanish Socialists are crumbling under multiple corruption investigations.

Today (24), Spanish anti-corruption police have raided the headquarters of PM Pedro Sánchez’s socialist PSOE party.

This is yet another damaging development in a season of scandals that have sparked talks about the government having to resign and hold snap elections later this year.

Visegrad24 on Telegram:

“The agents were sent to secure evidence for an ongoing probe into the alleged illegal financing of the country’s ruling party.

The raid comes just days after the socialist former PM José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was indicted on corruption charges linked to the Venezuelan regime.

Today’s raid is linked to an unrelated investigation overseen by Spain’s Anti-Corruption Prosecutor.

Many in the closest circle around PM Sanchez, including his wife and brother, are already under criminal investigation for corruption.”

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Tens of Thousands Protest in Madrid Demanding Resignation of Socialist Prime Minister Sánchez

Spaniards took to the streets of Madrid in their thousands on Saturday to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in the wake of the latest corruption scandal to rock his Socialist Workers’ Party.

Gathering under the banner “Sánchez, resign now!”, protesters flooded central Madrid, marching from the Plaza de Colón to the Victory Arch. According to government estimates, some 40,000 people attended; however, organisers claimed that upwards of 120,000 took part in the demonstration, public broadcaster RTVS reported.

The protest was held in the wake of former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero being indicted this week for alleged influence peddling and money laundering from Venezuela amid the €53 million ($57.2 million) public bailout of the Plus Ultra airline following the Chinese coronavirus crisis.

Zapatero, who has long faced criticism over his close ties to Venezuelan socialist dictators Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, is alleged to have received €1.95 million ($2.11 million) for himself and his inner circle in the claimed influence peddling scheme.

It is just the latest corruption scandal to hit a major figure within the governing Socialist Party of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, whose own wife, Begoña Gómez, is currently facing charges of influence peddling and embezzlement over claims that she used her position as first lady to benefit her business associates.

Amid the scandals, Sánchez has apparently sought to distract from his domestic woes by casting himself as an opponent to U.S. President Donald Trump on the world stage, by barring American troops from using bases in Spain during the Iran conflict.

At the protest on Saturday, the leader of the right-wing populist VOX party, Santiago Abascal, called on Zapatero to be held in prison during his trial and for Prime Minsiter Sánchez to be compelled to testify.

“There is no one left in Pedro Sánchez’s entourage who is not accused of very serious crimes,” Abascal said, lamenting that his country has been “kidnapped by a corrupt mafia that is impoverishing the Spanish people.”

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Another Spanish Socialist Charged With Money Laundering and Influence Peddling – Former Prime Minister and Key Sánchez Ally, Zapatero Has His Offices Raided by Police

Socialists in Spain are floundering.

Still reeling from the successive electoral defeats, embattled Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his Socialist party have another problem to deal with: his key ally (and former Prime Minister) José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has been raided by the police and charged with money laundering, influence peddling and other criminal offenses.

The alleged crimes were committed in connection with the 2021 bailout of Plus Ultra airlines.

This comes as Sánchez’s brother, wife and main PSOE leaders are all being investigated or under indictment for corruption or for sexual harassment.

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Parents Sent To Prison After Isolating Kids For FOUR YEARS Over Covid Fears

A court in northern Spain has sentenced a couple to prison after they kept their three children confined indoors for nearly four years due to intense fears of Covid.

The isolation, which began in December 2021 and continued until the children were rescued in April 2025, left the youngsters with significant mental and physical conditions, including difficulties walking, bowel and bladder control issues, and delayed development.

The case, underscores the profound and lasting effects that pandemic-related anxiety had, and continues to have, on some individuals.

Christian Steffen, 53, a German freelance tech recruiter, and his wife Melissa Ann Steffen, 48, an American-born naturalised German, lived in a rented home in Oviedo, Spain. 

Prosecutors stated that the parents “locked the minors up inside their home and isolated them completely from the rest of the world, denying them contact with other people both physically and through other forms of communication.”

They added that “The children didn’t even know their relatives or any other people that weren’t their parents. They never went outside, not even to the garden of their home, for almost four years because of the unfounded fear the accused had, and they had instilled in their children, that they might be infected with something.”

The children — a boy aged ten and eight-year-old twins — were not enrolled in school. They received homeschooling from their parents, had not seen a doctor since 2019, and lived in conditions described as squalid, with soiled nappies, rubbish, and inadequate sleeping arrangements including broken cots for the twins. 

Physical examinations revealed bowed legs, hunched posture, irritated skin, and other issues stemming from prolonged confinement and lack of medical care. After rescue, one child was reported to have knelt on the grass outside and touched it with amazement.

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Spain’s Socialist Government Is Sacrificing Its Own Police to Ruthless Drug Cartels — Another Officer Dead as Spain Becomes Europe’s Weak Link for Drugs and Illegal Migration

Picture Mexican and Colombian cartels using high-speed go-fast boats to flood cocaine and hashish into the U.S. via Florida or California, while U.S. agents chase them in outdated vessels — all while millions of illegal immigrants pour across the border using the same smuggling networks.

Replace the U.S. southern border with Spain’s southern coast, and that’s the crisis unfolding in Europe right now under Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government.

Americans familiar with border security debates at home will recognize the pattern: when politicians deprioritize enforcement, criminals and cartels exploit the vacuum.

Today, two Guardia Civil officers were killed in the line of duty off Huelva in Andalusia, southern Spain. Three more agents were injured — one seriously — when their patrol boat collided with a narcolancha (a powerful drug-smuggling speedboat) during a dangerous pursuit.

This tragedy is the direct, predictable outcome of chronic underfunding, outdated equipment, and a policy of weakness that has turned Spain into one of Europe’s softest entry points for both narcotics and illegal immigration.

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 ‘Raped’ schoolchildren tell of ‘monsters in the bathroom’ and draw chilling pictures of snarling blood-covered staff

A NURSERY school where children reportedly spoke of a “monster in the bathroom” is facing accusations of violence and sexual abuse.

The Munay Waldorf School in Zaragoza, Spain has now closed amid a sweeping police investigation.

Two members of staff have been accused of raping children as young as three.

At least 10 families have filed complaints, with around a dozen children allegedly describing sexual assaults, physical violence and intimidation inside the school – which catered for just 20 to 30 children aged 0 to 6.

The school follows the controversial holistic education system created by Rudolf Steiner, the Austrian philosopher.

One mum told Spanish newspaper El País her daughter began showing severe anxiety during her time at the school between 2022 and 2023.

The devastated mum said her daughter was becoming withdrawn, frightened and refusing to use the toilet.

“She told me there was a monster in the bathroom and she never went because it scared her so much. When we went to pick her up, the first thing she did when she came out was wet herself,” she said.

The mum later compiled a blue file folder filled with transcripts of conversations, audio recordings, videos and a sketchbook she says documents her daughter’s recollections.

The paper trail included chilling drawings of a man with blood around his mouth and exposed genitals.

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EU Crime Report: Spanish Rape Reports Surge 322% Over Last Decade, EU Sees 150% Increase

New data released by Eurostat on Wednesday reveals a staggering rise in reported sexual crimes across the European Union, with Spain showing an increase far beyond the continental average.

Spain has seen one of the most significant shifts in reporting, according to Spain’s La Razon outlet. In 2024, the country registered “5,222 violations” compared to only “1,239 in 2014.” This represents a “322 percent increase,” a figure that sits “well above the 150 percent average in the EU.”

What Eurostat does not provide is data on who is committing these crimes. However, other sources have explored this issue.

As Remix News reported last year, a CEU-CEFAS Demographic Observatory report titled “Demography of Crime in Spain” showed that foreigners, who make up 31 percent of Spain’s prison population and commit per capita 500 percent more rapes and 414 percent more murders than Spanish citizens.

The highest rates are seen among Arabs and Latinos, with many of them hailing from countries in South America known for their extremely high crime rates.

While the murder numbers are stable in Spain at 300 per year, there has been explosive growth in attempted murders. Over the course of just four years, between 2019 and 2023, attempted murder cases nearly doubled, going from 836 to 1,507.

In just five years, penetrative rape cases also soared 143 percent, going from 2,143 in 2019 to 5,206 in 2024.

As Remix News has reported on in the past, in many Spanish states, the crime statistics show massive overrepresentation of foreigners in serious crimes like sexual assault, including in the Basque region.

In cases of robbery with violence, foreigners are 440 percent more likely to commit such a crime. Many such cases have made headlines in the Spanish media.

The study heads indicated that Spain’s aging population should have led to a decrease in crime rates, but the influx of migrants, amounting to 3.8 million per decade, has led to an “imported crime” problem.

The report confirmed a consistent pattern that violent crime is predominantly committed by young men. Specifically concerning nationality, the study indicates that foreigners have much higher crime rates than Spaniards, particularly for the most serious offenses against persons, such as homicide, rape, and robbery. This overrepresentation is noted to be especially pronounced among individuals of African and Latin American origin.

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Pedro Sánchez’s amnesty for illegal immigrants in Spain begins by using post offices to speed it up without controls

The latest decision by the Spanish government has unleashed absolute chaos, and across Europe, leading figures are expressing concern about its potential consequences.

One of the largest regularisation programmes in decades has also angered millions of Spaniards.

Through Royal Decree 316/2026, approved on April 14, 2026, authorities are offering a pathway to legal residence and work rights for more than 500,000 illegal immigrants already living in the country in an irregular administrative situation.

To manage the flood of applications — with more than 130,000 submitted in the first week alone and tens of thousands more in person — the government has turned to an unlikely partner: post offices. Around 371–373 branches are now accepting applications by appointment, alongside immigration offices and about 60 Social Security offices.

Post office staff receive and forward the documentation; they do not decide on the cases. The goal? To decentralise the process and relieve pressure on already overwhelmed offices.

However, critics see something far more troubling: a high-volume system that risks granting legal status almost automatically, with insufficient controls.

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Spanish Catholic Church plagued by pedophiles – media

More than 3,000 people have reportedly suffered sexual abuse as minors within the Spanish Catholic Church, according to a eight-year investigation by the El Pais newspaper which published its latest findings on Monday.

The outlet began collecting data on sex crimes within the church in 2018, when only 34 cases were officially known. Since then, through public testimonies, judicial records, and church admissions, the number of victims of pedophilia has risen to 3,084 with the earliest incidents dating back to the 1940’s.

The list of accused has reached 1,613, representing 1.46% of the 110,000 priests and laypeople who have served in Spain in the past 80 years.

El Pais’ latest report, the sixth in five years, has added 58 new testimonies from Spain accusing 50 clerics and laypeople, all men except two nuns, and a separate section covering 21 testimonies from eight Latin American countries with 24 individuals accused.

The outlet said that it has shared all its findings with the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE), the Vatican, and Spain’s human rights commissioner. However, the newspaper noted that over the past five years, the Church has not responded substantively to the allegations with the CEE prioritizing “opacity and denial” while the Vatican has delegated responsibility to the Spanish bishops.

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Spain’s Sánchez urges EU to break Association Agreement with Israel within 48 hours

During a Socialist Workers’ Party rally in Gibraleón under the slogan ‘Defend Public Services’, on Sunday, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Socialist candidate María Jesús Montero confirmed they would ask the EU to end its Association Agreement with Israel.

Pedro Sánchez used an election rally in the province of Huelva to deliver one of the most far-reaching foreign policy messages of recent weeks. “This Tuesday, the Government of Spain will take to Europe the proposal that the EU sever its association with Israel,” he told supporters.

The prime minister added that Spain is “a friend of Israel”, but that it does not share the actions of its government, and urged other European countries to join the initiative.

The announcement did not come out of the blue. Days earlier, Sánchez had called on the EU to suspend its Association Agreement with Israel after what he described as the heaviest Israeli attack on Lebanon since the start of the offensive. On Sunday, that appeal hardened into a firm pledge, with a date set for action.

Spain’s stance on this conflict has been hardening for months. Sánchez and Ireland had already called for an urgent review of the EU–Israel agreement, arguing that respect for human rights and democratic principles is an “essential element” of the relationship.

At the European Pulse Forum 2026, held in Barcelona, Sánchez argued that Israel is “trampling on and violating” several articles of the Association Agreement, and said that Spain is “ready to take that step together with many other European countries”. Netanyahu responded by accusing Spain of waging a “diplomatic war” against Israel, to which Sánchez replied by taking the debate to the European institutions.

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