After the vote-buying scandals in Melilla and Mojácar, the Maracena soap opera could be the final straw for the Socialist Party in Sunday’s municipal elections. In this town in La Vega de Granada, the polls could turn around and oust its mayoress, Berta Linares (PSOE) from the command chair after the publication of the summary of the case of the kidnapping of its mayor of Urbanism, Vanessa Romero, on the 21st of February.
At the time, Linares’ ex-partner was arrested as the perpetrator of the events. As has been proven, he tied the councilor’s hands and feet with her ties and put her in the trunk of her car, threatening her with a simulated gun. He then parked the car in the nearby municipality of Armilla and drove off, so Romero was able to escape and report him.
Three months after that, the secret summary has been opened, which has allowed us to know the details of this case worthy of a soap opera. According to what the perpetrator of the events told the Civil Guard, he did not act alone. He pointed out Linares as partners, as well as the current town planning councilor, Antonio García, and number 3 of the Andalusian PSOE and organization secretary, Noel López. What does a senior party official paint in this matter? López was not only the mayor of Maracena for 15 years, he is also the cousin of the current councilor.
According to the detainee’s account, the plan to kidnap the former Town Planning councillor, Vanessa Romero, was hatched in a local restaurant. There – always according to his version – he himself, Berta Linares, Antonio García and Noel López sat at the table. Apparently it was the latter who asked Romero to “give a scare” since he kept “information on urban planning files that could give them problems.”
The mayoress of Maracena from the first moment has distanced herself from the facts. However, the tracking of the security cameras in Maracena and the mobile terminals dismantle the version of Linares, who told the Police that on the day of the events she did not see her ex-partner. But according to the images, there was a meeting in the local game room. Expert evidence has also revealed that there was an exchange of messages during those hours between Linares, councilor Antonio García and Noel López.
Given this, the investigating judge of the case has agreed to continue the case against the confessed perpetrator of the facts and has given the parties ten days to present allegations. In the case of Noel López, since he was registered for his status as a deputy, the judge has raised the case to the TSJA in order to investigate it.
The details that appear in the summary of the case have cornered the mayoress of Linares, who yesterday was forced to appear before the press to explain what happened just two days before the elections. Because Berta Linares is running for re-election. The visibly nervous mayor thanked the neighbors for their support and was “surprised” that the secret summary of the case was opened just two days before the municipal elections. After that, she wanted to clarify that her lawyers are reviewing all the proceedings of the car and assured that “there is no evidence that blames me, Noel or Antonio.” In this sense, Berta Linares pointed out that the entire accusation against them comes from the statement made by her ex-partner, who has recognized bipolarity. “It seems incredible to me that the entire accusation against us is taken by the story that my partner, a mentally unbalanced person, has made and that we are paying attention to him,” she said. Finally, Linares defended her innocence and blamed the PP for instigating the accusations against her for the kidnapping of Vanessa Romero to obtain electoral gain.
As for the organization secretary of the PSOE-A, Noel López, he has given the silent answer. In fact, the PSOE has preferred to keep him in the shadows until the elections are over because the end-of-campaign rally in Maracena that Linares was going to share with Noel was called off.
Who did speak was the organization secretary of the Andalusian PP, Antonio Repullo. And he did it from Maracena, where he moved after knowing the summary of the case. Repullo asked the Andalusian PSOE for explanations and warned that they do not rule out appearing in the case as an accusation.
