National Police detained Serigne Mbaye, former Podemos deputy in Madrid's Assembly, along with six others in the Usera district Thursday afternoon, after a clash that injured five officers lightly. Podemos denounced the arrest as a 'racist raid,' while police sources attribute it to a vehicle theft attempt. The Unified Police Union rejected racism claims.
The incident took place around 7:30 p.m. in a supermarket parking lot on Calle Antonio López 211 in Madrid's Usera district. Police sources said a 091 call reported individuals allegedly trying to steal from parked vehicles. Upon arrival, officers located a suspect who refused identification, acted aggressively, and fled to a nearby social center or building entrance, calling for help as dozens confronted the police. Reinforcements from the Citizen Attention Group (GAC) and Prevention and Reaction Unit (UPR) were called, leading to seven arrests for alleged offenses of assault on authority, resistance, and injuries. Five officers sustained minor injuries. Detainees include Serigne Mbaye, spokesperson for the street vendors' union and Podemos' anti-racism secretary; El Salto journalist Martín Cunéo; and an OMAL Paz con Dignidad activist. Mbaye, a Senegalese resident in Spain since 2006 and former deputy from 2021 to 2025, was arrested near his Villaverde home, per Podemos. Party leader Ione Belarra demanded his 'immediate release' and condemned 'harassment, police persecution based on skin color and defending social justice.' Spokesperson Pablo Fernández called it 'unacceptable' and blamed Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska. Irene Montero decried 'institutional and racist police violence.' A protest gathered tonight outside the Usera-Villaverde station. Sumar's parliamentary group filed congressional questions on possible racial profiling practices, as did Más Madrid deputies. The Unified Police Union (SUP) 'categorically rejected' racism accusations, stressing the action stemmed from a theft alert and used 'objective and professional' criteria without regard to origin or ideology.
