The former head of the Internal Affairs Unit (UAI) of the National Police, Marcelino Martín Blas, recognized this Tuesday in the Congress of Deputies that the so-called Operation Catalonia, an alleged parapolice plot hatched under the government of Mariano Rajoy to attack the Catalan territory independence movement, existed, but denied its participation: “In view of what I now know They carried out a Barna project “Some people carried out the operation in Catalonia and at the same time they blamed me.”
He argued this before the Commission of Inquiry of the Lower House, in which he provided documents and three recordings (already known) which came into his possession and which, as he explained, would demonstrate that he was not responsible for it. “everything is a lie», “I did not design any operation”, “I was not part of any patriotic police”, he defended himself. However, he confirmed a meeting with the Catalan Public Prosecutor’s Office to investigate Convergència e Unió (CIU) when he was responsible for Internal Affairs and that it was not his task, as he believed it was necessary to initiate proceedings against his treasurer.
The retired police officer, one of the agents who will appear in the dock for espionage against Luis Bárcenas, assured that, although he had no knowledge of parapolice activities during his active years, he had been surprised some notes from the agenda of Commissioner José Manuel Villarejoto which he also had access. He highlighted one, in particular, dating from November 5, 2012, called “Barna Work Plan”, a day before the meeting with the then leader of the Catalan PP, Alicia Sánchez Camacho.
The recording of said meeting is among those provided. “It’s very interesting,” he said, because “we were talking about a “draft report”” who said that Messrs. Artur Mas, Felip Puig and Jordi Pujol had accounts in tax havens. Mr. Pino (the DAO) instructed me, by order of the ministera report on this ‘draft report'”, revealed Martín Blas.
Asked about the alleged pressure exerted on officials of the Andorran Private Bank (BPA) to access information from the accounts of pro-independence leaders such as Jordi Pujol, Artur Mas and Oriol Junqueras, he explained that it was upon returning from a trip in Cartagena de Indias (Colombia) when the former deputy operational director (DAO) of the police Eugenio Pino asked him to go to the Villa Magna hotel, located on the Paseo. de la Castellana (Madrid), “to see a man who wanted to give him information”.
He was the CEO of BPA, Joan Pau Miquel Pratswho then accused Martín Blas of having participated in this meeting on behalf of the Spanish State under the name of Félix and of having opened a newspaper in which one could read something like “we are at war against the Spanish State , we are fighting against nationalism and we want all types of information you have regarding Mas, Junqueras and Pujol An extreme that the former head of the Interior denied in Congress.
According to Martín Blas, director of the UAI from February 2012 to January 2014, when the Andorran businessman told him that he had no information on him, he left “running and see you later.” He also denies using a false identity. “I have always been Marcelino,” he said. But he admitted having received a sheet of money from the Pujol-Ferrusola couple from the owner of the BPA, Higini Cierco. “It wasn’t worth anything. I broke it,” he said.
The alleged police pressure on the Private Bank of Andorra to disclose the tax data of politicians from the Catalan independence movement is in the hands of an Andorran court.
It was in June 2022 that the Principality’s Justice also opened an investigation against the former president of the government Mariano Rajoy and former Finance Minister Cristóbal Montoro for alleged crimes of coercion against constitutional bodies. Also to the former Minister of the Interior, Jorge Fernández Díaz, for alleged crimes of coercion, threats, extortion and blackmail, in addition to the crime of lying. The list of people investigated is completed by the former Secretary of State for Security, Francisco Martínez and the former Director General of Police, Ignacio Cosidó.
During his appearance this Tuesday, Martín Blas also reported to the Tax and Financial Delinquency Unit (UDEF) when Jose Luis Olivera was in front. He recounted how officials “close to the UDEF” came to see him to denounce the “trafficking” and “trafficking” that was being done with the department’s reports. Martín Blas added that he could not investigate this matter because he was denied the possibility of tapping the phones of, for example, Olivera.
He also suggested that the FAES foundation, linked to the PP, would have received commissions on the Palau file. Junts, ERC and PSOE requested that Martín-Blas be summoned again before the commission of inquiry so that he can appear “without time limit”.
