The Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, demanded this Saturday to respect the constitutional principle of presumption of innocence of former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero after his indictment and criticized the opposition for issuing premature convictions.
Torres denounced the "parallel trials" promoted by political forces that, in his opinion, make "defamation an emblem," in an interview granted to the EFE Agency during his official visit to Montevideo.
The minister expressed confidence that Zapatero will prove his innocence and vindicated his legacy: "He is the president who changed the history of our country, the one who walked towards equality, the one who clearly ended terrorism and who has placed Spain in the 21st century."
The UCO investigation and Aldama's accusations
In reference to his own situation, Torres stated that the investigation by the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard has dismantled all the accusations made against him by the businessman Víctor de Aldama.
The minister assured that the lawsuit he filed against the commissioner in March is "very well-prepared" and includes expert reports on his "slander and defamation."
"I have had an investigation by the UCO that for many months analyzed all my conversations and concluded that I have never been with women sexually harassed, that I have never asked for any kind of commission or kickbacks, and that I have never been involved in any illegal refinery operation," Torres asserted.
These statements come after Aldama testified last Thursday before the National Court as a suspect in the Koldo case and stated —again— that Koldo García asked him for 50,000 euros on behalf of Torres for facilitating contracts for sanitary material during the pandemic.
The minister dismissed the businessman's credibility entirely, pointing out that "he has stated one thing and the opposite," and assured that "justice will set things right."
Follow-up on the Democratic Memory Law
In terms of historical memory, the head of the portfolio highlighted the role of the so-called 'law of grandchildren,' which allows descendants of exiles to acquire Spanish nationality.
In the case of Uruguay, it reported that 50,000 applications have been submitted, of which about 12,000 have already been resolved. Although the deadline expired in October 2025 with no possibility of extension, he guaranteed that "all these laws can be updated" and that the Government will continue to promote memory regulations.
Likewise, he defended the process of re-signification of the Valley of Cuelgamuros, whose architectural competition has already been resolved, with the aim —he explained— that the space "is visited so that what happened is known and never happens again," in line with what the Nazi extermination camps represent.
In addition, he assured that there will be "great progress" in terms of exhumations from mass graves before the end of the legislature.
Territorial Policy and regional clashes
Torres valued the management of the operation deployed to attend to the cruise ship affected by hantavirus as "exemplary" and "unprecedented" and, despite the exchanges of statements with the Canary Islands president, Fernando Clavijo, guaranteed that institutional relations with the archipelago remain firm.
On the other hand, he acknowledged that there will be no agreement with Isabel Díaz Ayuso on the declaration of the Real Casa de Correos —current headquarters of the regional Presidency— as a Place of Democratic Memory.
The minister criticized the president's refusal to designate the building as a former Francoist repression center where there were "tortures and deaths," and expressed confidence that the courts will rule in their favor despite the recent precautionary suspension by the National High Court.
Regarding Catalonia, Torres defended the bilateral meeting held with the Generalitat and the agreements reached there last Wednesday within the framework of the approval of the regional budgets.
As for the central Executive, he maintained the intention to present accounts before the end of the legislature and justified the Government's legislative capacity despite not having them for three years.
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