{"id":2029,"date":"2026-05-20T10:44:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T10:44:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/05\/20\/former-spanish-prime-minister-zapatero-is-under-investigation\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T10:44:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T10:44:42","slug":"former-spanish-prime-minister-zapatero-is-under-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=2029","title":{"rendered":"Former Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero is under investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Former Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero is under investigation<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n

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\n Spain’s former Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero speaks to journalists in La Paz, Bolivia, Thursday, May 12, 2022.
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\n Juan Karita\/AP
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\n Juan Karita\/AP
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MADRID \u2014 A Spanish court is investigating former Prime Minister Jos\u00e9 Luis Rodr\u00edguez Zapatero for alleged influence peddling and other possible crimes tied to a government airline bailout.<\/p>\n

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The National Court in Madrid is probing possible financial wrongdoing in connection with the Spanish government’s rescue of the Plus Ultra airline, which in 2021 received 53 million euros (now $62 million) in public money as part of COVID-19 recovery funds.<\/p>\n

The court said in a statement that the investigation was widened to include Zapatero, who was summoned to answer a judge’s questions on June 2. Police with warrants from the investigating judge searched Zapatero’s office on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Zapatero, 65, was prime minister from 2004 to 2011 and had been out of public office for a decade when Plus Ultra received the bailout.<\/p>\n

He is a member of the Socialist party headed by current Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez, whose party has been rocked by other corruption scandals over the past two years.<\/p>\n

Zapatero denied any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

“All of my public and private activities have always been conducted in full compliance with the law,” he said in a statement to Spanish media. “My private activities and the income and compensation I have received have been declared via income tax with absolute transparency and legality.”<\/p>\n

Plus Ultra is a Spanish-owned airline with investors from Venezuela. It specialized in flights between Spain and Venezuela, Peru and Ecuador.<\/p>\n

Since leaving office, Zapatero has focused a large part of his activity on maintaining dialogue with the government in Venezuela, which was largely isolated from Western countries after it cracked down on the democratic opposition.<\/p>\n

When asked about Zapatero on Tuesday, Spanish government spokesperson Elma Saiz told reporters that the administration is “approaching the news with calm, confidence, prudence and respect for the law.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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