Overview
- A civil claim by minister Félix Bolaños was admitted to trámite on Monday, allowing him to pursue €70,000 in compensation and a court order barring Víctor de Aldama from repeating allegations about an attempted bribe.
- De Aldama publicly told TV programs in early February that Bolaños tried to bribe him and later repeated that account as testimony before the Audiencia Nacional; Bolaños denies ever knowing or speaking with him.
- Delcy Rodríguez has retained the despacho of Baltasar Garzón to bring an injurias querella over De Aldama's claim that she handed him a PDVSA 'envelope', and Garzón's team has opened a conciliation procedure that produced a hearing set for July 16.
- Legal experts say Supreme Court doctrine and Spain's criminal procedure rules require prior judicial authorization to sue over statements made in court, a principle that may block or delay Rodríguez's planned penal complaint because De Aldama repeated the allegation to the Audiencia Nacional.
- The allegations tie into an active Audiencia Nacional probe about a PDVSA-linked envelope and alleged PSOE financing, so near-term litigation is likely to turn on procedural fights over access to courts rather than quick reputational or criminal resolutions.