Former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is under investigation in Spain over alleged influence peddling and related crimes in the long-running Plus Ultra airline case.
Zapatero led Spain from 2004 to 2011, winning two absolute parliamentary majorities with landmark policies such as withdrawing Spanish troops from Iraq and legalising same-sex marriage. He is the first Spanish prime minister – current or former – to be formally investigated by the judiciary since the transition to democracy.
The High Court said today that Zapatero’s office in Madrid was searched along with three other premises, adding that the former Premier had been summoned to testify on June 2, 2026.
In a statement, the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) said that Zapatero was a pioneer of progressive policies that now underpin Spanish society and that the political right and far right had never forgiven him for this.
The investigation is tied to the 2021 state rescue of Plus Ultra, which received 53 million euros ($62m) through the state holding company SEPI during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The probe is looking into whether Zapatero used his political influence to secure the multi-million euro rescue package for Plus Ultra in exchange for illegal commissions and ties to Venezuelan funds. He faces charges of document forgery, influence peddling, and belonging to a criminal organisation
The case escalated in late December after several arrests, including businessman Julio Martinez Martinez, known as Julito, who is considered key to understanding the links between Plus Ultra and Zapatero.
Zapatero is alleged to have been the driving force behind the airline’s bailout and is accused of having pressed the Ministry of Transport, then led by Jose Luis Abalos, to approve the rescue. Suspicion also centres on Analisis Relevante, Julito’s company, which allegedly received the same amount Plus Ultra later paid to Zapatero. Víctor de Aldama, a Spanish businessman involved in other corruption probes, has alleged Zapatero received 10 million euros ($12m) in commissions.
The bailout remained politically controversial because critics questioned both Plus Ultra’s financial viability and the company’s ownership links to Venezuelan businessmen seen as close to the government of then-President Nicolas Maduro, raising concerns about transparency and possible political influence.
The court is examining whether the aid was properly approved and whether any improper lobbying or influence was involved.
Zapatero, who governed Spain from 2004 to 2011, has long been a key ally of Sanchez and has also drawn criticism from the opposition over business and political ties with Venezuela after leaving office. He has denied wrongdoing before a parliamentary committee.
PSOE Deputy in Congress and General Secretary of the party in the province of León, Javier Cendón, who has publicly expressed his “support” for the former Head of the Executive in a social media post.
“In politics, there are times when you have to be there. And I am with José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
“Absolute respect for Justice and firm defense of his presumption of innocence against any attempt at political or media lynching.”
Javier Cendón
The President of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, learned of the news of the investigation into Zapatero during an interview on a radio station. “It leaves me stunned, it leaves me stunned, honestly,” he said.
“I wish him, logically, well in this process and that he can defend himself. The memory I always have is the personal experience with Zapatero, I tell you, I have never seen him particularly obsessed with money, far from it.”
Emiliano García-Page
Probe Likely To Shake Up Government
Speaking to a newspaper, the president of the Andalusian regional government, Juanma Moreno, said that there has never been a serious investigation process, much less an indictment of a former Premier. “This is something unprecedented and will shake up the government,” Moreno added.
The conservative opposition People’s Party has used the case to sharpen its attacks on Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of the Socialist Workers’ Party, to which Zapatero also belongs.
Sanchez’s administration is already facing separate corruption probes involving figures close to the Prime Minister as well as investigations touching his wife and brother.
The People’s Party described Zapatero as Sanchez’s “muse” and said that the two allies were linked by corruption allegations. “Both have used their families to enrich themselves and both have denigrated the institution they represent or have represented,” the right-wing party said in a statement.
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