Overview
- Magistrate María Tardón opened formal diligencias on July 31 and on September 7 confirmed Audiencia Nacional jurisdiction before this week ordering sweeping evidence collection from 31 state bodies and private tech firms.
- In mid-September the judge ordered biometric and audiovisual analyses, satellite imagery and social‑media preservation while creating a secret file for sensitive intelligence work that the CNI will help handle.
- Tardón has prioritized witness summonses for Ceuta president Juan Jesús Vivas and ex‑chief of staff Gonzalo Sanz with Vivas scheduled to testify at the end of September about what Madrid knew before the entry.
- Police economic units UDEF and Guardia Civil UCO were instructed to produce financial and patrimonial reports probing possible logistics funding, hawala transfers and transport contracts linked to the mobilization.
- The court is comparing the July episode with mass entries in 2021 and 2024, is looking for a central ‘cerebro’ that coordinated the operation, and is examining potential crimes from state security offences to negligent homicide tied to reported deaths.