Twelve are investigated in the Mediator case, the alleged extortion plot against livestock companies in exchange for avoiding inspections, but three stand out among them: a national deputy, his nephew and a retired Civil Guard general.
JUAN BERNARDO SOURCES. In his work as a representative of the socialist group in Congress, Juan Bernardo Fuentes Curbelo is given a rather gray profile. With little parliamentary activity, he used to occupy one of the last seats on the socialist bench. The canary (Puerto del Rosario, 1962) agreed to the seat in January 2020 after a dance of chairs took place, a carambola that ended up benefiting him. Carolina Darias, then Minister of Economy, Knowledge and Employment of the Canary Islands, was appointed Minister of Territorial Policy and Public Function and her position in the regional government was held by Elena Máñez. She, in turn, left empty the seat as deputy of the PSOE that she had for Las Palmas. She was replaced by Juan Bernardo Fuentes.
The promotion to national deputy supposed another movement apparently of minor importance, but that acquires greater importance now. Fuentes Curbelo left his position as general director of Livestock of the Government of the Canary Islands, since he inherited that of his nephew, Taishet Fuentes. Both now appear involved in an alleged extortion plot against Canarian farmers and cheesemakers, who would have been asked for commissions in exchange for not being inspected or facilitating access to EU funds.
The Fuentes Curbelo have had little relevance in national politics, but much in the Canary Islands, where the media refer to them as a "historical-socialist saga." The brother of Juan Bernardo Fuentes, for example (also Taishet Fuentes' uncle), is Domingo Fuentes Curbelo, former vice president of the island council, former senator (2011-15) and current insular director of the State Administration on the island of Fuerteventura.
Juan Bernardo Fuentes studied FP in the Administrative branch and has a master's degree in Tax Consulting and Tax Law. He was a councilor in Puerto del Rosario (1995-99) and a national deputy for a few months (2007-8) with José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. His second stage in Congress ended on February 14 when, after transcending the scandal, he resigned from the seat while the PSOE of the Canary Islands suspended him - him and his nephew - from his militancy.
TAISHET SOURCES GUTIERREZ. Born in 1985 in Puerto del Rosario -on the island of Fuerteventura-, the nephew of Juan Bernardo Fuentes Curbelo made his political debut in the municipal elections in 2014, when he was elected spokesman for the socialist group and councilor in the City Hall of Antigua, a town of 12,000 inhabitants on the island of Fuerteventura. He renewed both positions in 2019, becoming Councilor for Commerce, Beaches, Health and Consumption. His functions had little to do with the field in which he was trained, since he has a degree in Aeronautical Management from the Autonomous University of Madrid.
On March 5, 2020, his fledgling political career received a boost. His uncle Juan Bernardo Fuentes left the General Directorate of Livestock of the Government of the Canary Islands vacant and the president, the socialist Ángel Víctor Torres, chose him to replace him. As swift as his rise was his fall. Two years and three months later, on June 22, 2022, he was removed after "losing confidence" in the president.
Taishet Fuentes was arrested on February 14 and released with charges. Four days earlier he had been elected as the Socialist candidate for mayor of Antigua.
FRANCISCO ESPINOSA NAVAS. Until his arrest last week, the retired division general of the Civil Guard Francisco Javier Espinosa -Guillena (Seville), 1956- could boast an enviable curriculum: head of the Algeciras (2002-04) and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (2008-12), attached to the Spanish Embassy in France (2004-08), deputy chief of staff of the Civil Guard (2013-16), head of the International Cooperation Secretariat (2016-17) and Director of Garsi Sahel, a European Union program to train police forces in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel. The investigation tries to determine if Espinosa used his influence to illegally mediate and obtain preferential treatment for peninsular businessmen to enter the Canary Islands Special Zone (ZEC).
After being arrested, the retired general was sent to "communicated and unconditional" provisional prison.
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