The PSOE has demanded the appearance of the president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Oswaldo Betancort, after it became known that the Court is investigating the Minister of the Waste Area, Domingo Cejas, for a possible crime against natural resources and the environment related to the serious fire declared in May 2024 at the Zonzamas Environmental Complex.
According to the information known, the second Court of the Instruction Section of the Arrecife Court of First Instance maintains open criminal proceedings for that fire, after the Prosecutor's Office found indications of possible environmental crimes. The same information indicates that the Cabildo has agreed to hire legal assistance for Domingo Cejas within the framework of preliminary proceedings 163/2025.
The minister of the Socialist Group in the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Benjamín Perdomo, has denounced that “the most serious thing is not only that there is a criminal investigation for a fire in an essential public facility, but that Oswaldo Betancort's government has decided to hide it from the public for months”.
The news also points out that on October 30, 2025, a summons addressed to the legal representative of the Zonzamas Environmental Complex entered the Waste Area to appear as an investigated person, a condition held by minister Domingo Cejas. It also states that the Cabildo itself, in contracting external legal defense, alludes to possible "administrative, criminal, and reputational" consequences for the person in charge and for the island administration.
For the PSOE, these events oblige the president of the Cabildo to appear and explain “since when he knew about this situation, why he did not inform the public, what measures have been taken since then, and what internal evaluation has been carried out on the safety, surveillance, and control conditions of the Environmental Complex”.
“We hope that this time the government does not repeat the usual script: to hide behind technicians to avoid assuming any political responsibility. There is a judicial investigation here for a serious fire in Zonzamas and whoever has to give explanations is the one who governs,” Perdomo has stated.
Perdomo recalled that “the judicial investigation does not refer to a minor or isolated episode, but to a fire of enormous proportions in essential public infrastructure for Lanzarote,” which forced the activation of the Insular Emergency Plan and mobilized firefighters, Civil Protection, Guardia Civil, Local Police, firefighters from César Manrique Airport, and a helicopter from the GES of the Government of the Canary Islands.
The socialist councilor stressed that the fire affected the landfill cell and generated an intense column of black smoke visible from different points on the island, “which shows the seriousness of events about which the Cabildo cannot limit itself to remaining silent.”
Furthermore, according to the published information, the Public Prosecutor's Office decree refers to documentation provided by Seprona regarding facts that could constitute a crime against natural resources and the environment.
“When a judicial investigation reaches this dimension, when it affects an essential public service and when it can have administrative, criminal, and reputational consequences for the institution, the Cabildo has the democratic obligation to face up to it, explain what happened, and assume political responsibility,” Perdomo concluded.
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