Supreme Court prosecutors Javier Zaragoza Y Consuelo Madrigal, who accused the Catalan independentists of a crime of rebellion, are presented as candidates to fill the vacant position of the deceased lieutenant prosecutor Juan Ignacio Campos. Zaragoza and Madrigal did not give in to pressure from the Executive and remained firm in the accusation against those convicted of 1-O. Due to her independence and professionalism, Dolores Delgado decided to separate them from matters that affect the Government when she took power from the Prosecutor’s Office.
Zaragoza is a court prosecutor, a category to which he rose almost 17 years ago, number 1 of the ladder, and since 2017 – after directing the Prosecutor’s Office of the National High Court – he has been assigned as a court prosecutor to the Prosecutor’s Office of the Supreme Court, in the Criminal Section, a position he currently holds.
With a long history of 40 years, the prosecutor Zaragoza has directed the most important accusations of drug trafficking in recent years (against the clan of the Charlines or against narcos like Sito Miñanco o Laureano Oubiña) and is considered an international specialist in this matter. Among the many cases in which he represented the Public Prosecutor’s Office is the operation Nécora, in which 45 people were accused and, after their trial, 30 were sentenced. This process is considered the most important in Spanish judicial history in the fight against organized drug trafficking.
Madrigal, candidate for No. 2 of Delgado
The former attorney general of the State Consuelo Madrigal, who was also part of the group of prosecutors who did not yield to the pressure of the socialist government and defended that there was a rebellion by the Catalan independentists, also aspires to occupy the position of lieutenant prosecutor of the Supreme.
Madrigal has extensive experience as a prosecutor and his career colleagues highlight his “Professionalism” e “impeccable” trajectory. In 1980 he entered the tax career with number 3 of his class. As a prosecutor, she has been assigned to the Public Prosecutor’s Offices of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Palencia and Madrid, as well as the Court of Accounts, the Supreme Court and the State Attorney General’s Office. In February 2008, she was promoted to the category of Chamber prosecutor and appointed prosecutor of the Coordinating Chamber for Minors. In 2015, she was appointed State Attorney General, becoming the first woman to hold this position.
In a conservative mood, for more than 40 years of service she had not been related to any professional organization until a month ago when she joined the Association of Prosecutors (OF). Consider that “now is the time.” This association has demanded the resignation of Delgado because his decisions at the head of the State Attorney General’s Office have caused “Serious damage to the prestige of the Public Prosecutor’s Office” and their permanence in office is “incompatible with impartiality and the constitutional principles that govern” in the institution.
Decide Delgado
Delgado, with his only binding vote in the Fiscal Council, will be the one who finally appointed his number 2, since what was voted by the directors is not binding. And these two candidates, despite having a brilliant resume, will not be the favorites of the former socialist minister.
According to sources from the Office of the Prosecutor who welcome this movement, both would help restore the independence lost to the Public Ministry since the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, appointed his former Minister of Justice Dolores Delgado as attorney general.
The other candidates
OKDIARIO has learned that the other candidates who aspire to the Juan Ignacio Campos square are: José Ramón Noreña, Maria Angeles Sanchez Y José Javier Huete. The latter was promoted to court prosecutor only six years ago. However, he is Delgado’s favorite.
The attorney general appointed Huete as head of the Supreme Court for Criminal Matters, a position for which Javier Zaragoza presented himself, but the former minister vetoed his candidacy. As reported by OKDIARIO, Delgado “pressured” the councilors of the Progressive Union of Prosecutors not to support Zaragoza, a fact that they denied from the association although, it is true that it squeaked in the prosecutorial career, and much, that the place will be assigned to a non-associate.
