The investigation is moving from political allegations toward financial evidence.
Madrid
Spain’s National Court is examining hundreds of encrypted messages exchanged between Venezuela’s Delcy Rodríguez and businessman Víctor de Aldama as part of an investigation into alleged financial and political connections surrounding oil transactions and Spanish public figures. Judge Ismael Moreno has instructed the Guardia Civil’s Central Operational Unit to analyze the communications supplied by Aldama during his cooperation with investigators. The material reportedly includes discussions about petroleum sales, maritime shipments and multimillion euro operations involving Venezuela. The investigation remains open, and the allegations have not been established by a final judicial ruling.
The messages were exchanged through the encrypted application Threema and reportedly span several years. Investigators are examining whether they confirm the degree of access Aldama had to senior figures within the Venezuelan government and whether those relationships later intersected with his contacts in Spain. According to the material under review, Aldama’s business links with Venezuelan authorities predated his relationship with former transport minister José Luis Ábalos. The central judicial question is whether commercial transactions involving Venezuelan oil became connected to alleged political financing.
Aldama has told investigators that money generated through business activities linked to Venezuelan oil was later delivered in cash to Ábalos and former adviser Koldo García. He has claimed that some of those funds were intended for political purposes, including expenses related to the PSOE and the Socialist International. One alleged payment involved €300,000 reportedly delivered at a Madrid residence associated with Ábalos. These statements remain allegations made within an ongoing investigation and have not been judicially established as fact.
The petroleum operations under scrutiny were potentially substantial. Reporting on the case describes negotiations involving Pegaso Energy, a Swiss company working with international partners, to acquire Venezuelan crude and fuel oil from state producer PDVSA. Some of the contemplated transactions involved millions of barrels and complex payment structures extending across several jurisdictions. That scale gives the investigation a financial dimension that reaches well beyond domestic Spanish politics.
The case is also connected to a wider examination of Aldama’s international business network. Investigators have been tracing financial movements, corporate relationships and possible payment routes involving several European jurisdictions. The complexity of those structures makes documentary evidence, banking records and authenticated communications especially important when separating verifiable transactions from testimony and political accusation.
The significance of the encrypted messages lies in whether investigators can connect commercial negotiations, political relationships and financial transfers through corroborated evidence. If that chain can be established, the case could move beyond personal testimony toward a more precise reconstruction of how influence and money may have circulated across borders.
Truth is structure, not noise.