Spanish Police Raid Socialist Party HQ as Sánchez Meets Pope Leo in Vatican — Corruption Scandals Worsen PM's Woes

27 May 2026 | Madrid, Vatican City, Rome — Updated 11:30 GMT

In Madrid, police officers enter the ruling Socialist Party's headquarters. The search warrant is sealed. The investigation: alleged illegal financing. The timing: as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez meets Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, 1,500 kilometres away.

In Rome, Sánchez smiles for cameras in the San Damaso Courtyard. He speaks with the first US pope about peace, poverty, migration and artificial intelligence. He promises reporters that his party will "fully cooperate" with the justice system. He insists there are "no reasons to change" his support for former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, now under investigation himself.

Back in Madrid, the walls are closing in. Sánchez's wife faces a judge on 9 June. His brother goes on trial tomorrow. A former prime minister appears in court on 18 June. And an orange weather alert grips Spain as temperatures hit 40C. For Sánchez, June has never looked so precarious.

MADRID/VATICAN CITY – Spanish police have entered the ruling Socialist Party's headquarters in Madrid on a judicial order to gather information on a possible illegal financing scheme, deepening the political crisis engulfing Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez as he meets with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican.

A spokesperson for the Guardia Civil force told Reuters officers had entered the premises but did not disclose any further details since the proceedings are secret. Several Spanish news outlets reported that the search is part of an intensifying investigation into alleged influence peddling and corruption.

Police Raid Socialist Party Headquarters

The search of the PSOE headquarters takes place amid intensifying focus on separate allegations of influence peddling and corruption linked to former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and the immediate family of current PM Pedro Sánchez, creating a precarious situation for both the party and the embattled premier.

Sánchez, speaking to reporters after his Vatican meeting, broadly promised that the party would fully cooperate with the justice system amid the ongoing investigation. He added that if there are any new irregularities, the party will "act with the same decisive force as before," essentially toeing the line of the party's official statement.

Sánchez at the Vatican: Peace, Poverty and AI

Sánchez briefed reporters after his morning meetings with Pope Leo XIV, the first US pope, at the Vatican. The pair spoke about the need to "defend peace," with Sánchez stressing that "peace is not built with missiles" but "with dialogue and respect for international law."

They also discussed their shared priorities in the fight against poverty, malnutrition, and the importance of improving the global health situation. Sánchez also said they talked about "the essential link between ethics and artificial intelligence," after Pope Leo's recent warnings about "the culture of power" driving the rise of AI globally.

The meeting comes just over a week before Pope Leo's planned visit to Spain, set to begin on 6 June. The Pope will visit Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands, delivering twelve speeches, presiding over four masses, and having around ten meetings with various leaders, according to the official schedule.

Pope Leo XIV arrives for his weekly general audience at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, where he decried the 'sharp intensification' of the war in Ukraine and told pilgrims that 'war does not solve problems.'

'War Does Not Solve Problems': Pope Leo Decries Ukraine Intensification

As reporters waited for Sánchez to appear at the Spanish embassy at the Vatican, Pope Leo addressed pilgrims at his weekly audience, decrying what he called a "sharp intensification" of the war in Ukraine.

"I am following with concern the war in Ukraine," Leo said. "War does not solve problems, but aggravates them. It does not build security, but multiplies suffering and hatred."

"Where missiles and drones fall, hopes also fall, homes and places of worship are destroyed, and innocent lives are shattered," he said in comments reported by Reuters.

The Pope's comments come as fighting continues to escalate in eastern Ukraine, with both sides reporting heavy casualties in recent weeks.

Sánchez's Precarious June: Wife, Brother and Former PM in Court

The coming days and weeks are shaping up to be an anxious time for Pedro Sánchez, his family, his party and his administration.

Tomorrow: The PM's younger brother, David Sánchez, will go on trial over allegations that he was handed a bespoke job by the socialist-led council of the south-western city of Badajoz in July 2017, when his brother was the national leader of the PSOE but was not yet prime minister.

9 June: A judge investigating accusations that Sánchez's wife, Begoña Gómez, used her influence as the spouse of the prime minister to secure sponsors for a university master's degree course and used state funds to pay her assistant for help with personal matters, has summoned her to appear.

18-19 June: Former PSOE prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, a totemic figure on the Spanish left who served from 2004 to 2011, will appear before a judge examining the state bailout of a Venezuela-linked airline during the Covid pandemic.

David Sánchez and Begoña Gómez have denied any wrongdoing. Both have found themselves under investigation following complaints brought by the pressure group Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), a self-styled trade union with far-right links that has a long history of using the courts to pursue political targets.

The prime minister – who has said his family have been the victims of a "harassment and bullying operation" waged by his political and media opponents – has insisted that neither has committed any offence. Sánchez has also openly questioned the independence of some members of the Spanish judiciary, claiming last year that "there's no doubt that there are judges doing politics and there are politicians trying to do justice."

Zapatero Investigation: The Plus Ultra Airline Bailout

Things took another bleak turn for the socialists last week when Zapatero was placed under investigation by a judge examining the state bailout of a Venezuela-linked airline during the Covid pandemic.

The investigation is part of an inquiry into the €53m (£46m) state rescue of the Spanish airline Plus Ultra in March 2021. Prosecutors are examining whether the company made "inadequate use" of the public funds the government approved for the bailout, while anti-corruption police are investigating whether the airline used the rescue money to launder funds from Venezuela through France, Switzerland and Spain.

According to the investigating judge, Zapatero is alleged to have overseen "a hierarchical structure of influence peddling," whose purpose was "to obtain economic benefits through intermediation and the exercise of influence before public bodies in favour of third parties, mainly Plus Ultra."

Zapatero released a video last week in which he insisted on his innocence and stated his willingness to cooperate with the investigation.

"I'd like to reaffirm that all my public and private activity has always been conducted with absolute respect for the law," he said, adding he had never carried out "any action" relating to the airline's bailout.

Asked about Zapatero's legal problems, Sánchez reiterated his support for the former prime minister. He said he read the court order, and "there are no reasons to change" his position.

Spain Heatwave: Orange Alert as Temperatures Hit 40C

Compounding Spain's political turmoil, the country is also in the grip of an intense heatwave, with temperatures expected to reach 40C (104F) this week.

An orange weather alert was issued for the Basque Country amid predictions that the northern region could see the mercury hit 37C on Wednesday. Temperatures of 36C to 38C were forecast for southern regions, with a high of 38C in the south-western city of Badajoz.

Spain's state meteorological office, Aemet, said temperatures more normally seen in July had already been recorded across the country, adding that the current heat was "more characteristic of the dog days, the hottest period of the year." It also said that such hot spells were the result of the climate emergency.

"It should be pointed out that climate change is leading to episodes of high temperatures throughout the year that are more frequent and more intense than in previous decades," said Rubén del Campo, an Aemet spokesperson.

"Both this episode and the atmospheric pattern that's causing it are part and parcel of climate change and of what's been observed in recent years."

Sagrada Familia: Tower of Jesus Christ Completed

One of the key parts of Pope Leo's upcoming Spain trip will include the inauguration and blessing of the Tower of Jesus Christ on the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, which was completed earlier this year, bringing the church to its maximum final height 144 years after work began.

The completion of the tower marks a historic moment for Antoni Gaudí's masterpiece, one of the most visited monuments in Spain and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Separately: EU-Russia Tensions, UK-Poland Defence Treaty

Elsewhere in Europe, the EU has summoned Russia's top diplomat in Brussels over pre-strike warnings for foreigners and diplomats in Kyiv, as tensions remain high following recent escalations in the ongoing conflict.

Meanwhile, a new UK-Polish defence and security treaty is set to be signed in London today, further solidifying the strategic partnership between the two nations amid growing security concerns in Central and Eastern Europe.

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