Retired Commissioner Manuel Vázquez, former UDEF head, testified Tuesday in the National Court that he was not informed of the Kitchen operation's spying on Luis Bárcenas during the Gürtel probe. He denied pressuring Inspector Manuel Morocho to alter reports on Bárcenas' papers. His testimony bolsters the prosecution's view that Kitchen was a parallel operation.
Manuel Vázquez, head of the Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) from 2013 to 2015, testified Tuesday as a witness in the Kitchen operation trial at the National Court. He stated no one informed him of surveillances on Bárcenas, his wife Rosalía Iglesias, or informant Sergio Ríos, despite UDEF investigating Gürtel under Judge Pablo Ruz.
Prosecutor César de Rivas from the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office asked if support was requested for Gürtel or if the Deputy Operational Directorate notified anything. Vázquez answered no to both. He noted UDEF had its own surveillance section and only once heard of an 'intelligence operation' without details. Commissioner Juan Antonio González confirmed support units existed in the General Police Judiciary Commissariat.
Regarding pressures claimed by Inspector Manuel Morocho, who accused the chain of command—including Vázquez—of urging him to remove Mariano Rajoy's name from a report on Bárcenas' papers, the witness attributed it to 'self-pressure' from media criticism. He compared 'M. Rajoy' to 'K. Mbappé in Real Madrid's accounts' and denied hiding information.
Notary Alberto Vela testified on SMS messages presented by Francisco Martínez, allegedly from Jorge Fernández Díaz mentioning Bárcenas' driver on July 13, 2013. Fernández Díaz's defense questioned their authenticity, but Vela confirmed the phone matched.
