Overview
- New WhatsApp logs from ex-councillor Salomé Pradas prompted a second summons for José Manuel Cuenca, including a 19:54 message urging “no confinement” after the Poyo ravine overflow during the 2024 floods that left 230 dead.
- Following the Public Prosecutor’s criterion and citing limited competence in emergencies, the court declined to reclassify Cuenca from witness to suspect.
- Cuenca refused to hand over his mobile phone, citing privacy, and told the court earlier messages were lost after he changed devices without backups.
- The powerful aide acknowledged he was not in Valencia on the day of the DANA, saying he traveled to Xàtiva and Benigànim for personal reasons.
- Scrutiny of potential conflicts deepened as records show his former employer STV Gestión won an emergency cleaning contract that grew from €290,000 to €2.3 million in December.