“Unlike other UCO reports, there is no addition or paragraph where the UCO has requested the Canary Islands government or me to conduct an investigation. There is no mention in any page or paragraph of any criminal acts by the government that I have the honor of presiding over,” Ángel Víctor Torres said at a recent press conference following the release of the report from the Civil Guard Central Operations Unit (UCO). In this regard, the House of Representatives is having a session marked by concerted action by the People’s Party and Vox, which, according to the media, has put the Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory at the center of a parliamentary offensive, demanding an explanation for its connection to the so-called irregular mask contracting conspiracy known as the “Cordes Affair”, according to the media.
Sources have disclosed that Congress is preparing for a vote scheduled for next week after receiving a letter of inquiry registered by the party, which directly questions the ethical and transparency principles applied to Mr. Torres’ management. Questions from parliamentary spokespersons deepen scrutiny of the minister, as popular spokesperson Kuka Gamara questions the suitability of Torres to continue in office after the revelations, while Deputy Minister Eduardo Carazo It calls on the minister to explain the truth of Torres’ statements in relation to the parties involved, given that he insisted in the Senate that neither he nor his team had any contact with the conspiracy or the meeting with Víctor de Aldama.
Vox, through representative Pepa Rodríguez de Milan, prepared clarifying questions to find out whether Mr. Torres was personally involved in the management of the contract in question. Media have also reported that the PP may turn the outcome of the debate into a formal ministerial motion of disapproval, a parliamentary tool aimed at publicly assessing the standards expected of government officials and facilitating a collective statement by the Chamber of Commerce on the incident.
A Civil Guard report released last week linked the Torres administration in the Canary Islands to “pending payment” requests in favor of Sorciones de Gestión, which allegedly motivated interactions and meetings with both Cordo García, a former ministerial aide, and Victor de Aldama, a businessman who is said to have brokered contracts to purchase medical supplies during the state of emergency. Evidence collected also included a message from Mr. Torres to Mr. Garcia in which Mr. Garcia told him, “I’m making sure you get paid,” which the UCO interpreted as part of an ongoing operation.
The report states that the influence of García, a former advisor to former minister José Luis Ábalos, played a decisive role in ending the negotiations, and media said Aldama was seen as a key figure in contacts between the Canary Islands government at the time and the winning companies. The police investigation also collected evidence that Torres and de Aldama met at least once around the same time as the trip to Madrid in July 2020. Regarding this exchange, Torres argued that the only documentary evidence represented messages sent by Mr. Aldama from an unregistered number, in which Mr. Aldama identified a brief contact on the same day and classified the episode as unrelated.
In public appearances after learning of the report, Torres stressed there was no evidence of irregular fees being paid during his term and accused those who promoted the accusations of defamation. The minister claimed that after several years of investigation, the UCO had found no evidence of bribery or illegal enrichment stemming from the contracts analyzed, according to an official report.
Congressional pressure has intensified against the backdrop of the health crisis and resource allocation practices during the period, putting integrity and transparency measures at the center of the debate. Both PP and Vox believe that the procedures followed by Mr. Torres need to be clarified before political representatives and the public. Media emphasized that judicial authorities receive and process the findings presented by private security to limit the scope of conduct that could be subject to punishment or administrative sanctions.
The Cordo scandal continues to highlight systemic issues, and the House of Representatives has become a site of conflict between the executive and opposition parties. Political parties opposed to the government insist on the need to clarify political and administrative responsibility for public contract processes that take place in exceptional circumstances. As officials have repeatedly stated, the close scrutiny of this case has placed Mr. Torres under continued scrutiny by both lawmakers and the judiciary tasked with uncovering the facts.
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