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Spain Releases 23-F Files as Coup Leader Antonio Tejero Dies at 93

Newly declassified records include a CESID report acknowledging intelligence participation, reinforcing evidence that Juan Carlos I opposed the plot.

Overview

  • Spain made public 153 documents on the 1981 coup attempt, ending decades of secrecy through publication in the Official State Gazette and on La Moncloa’s website.
  • The trove includes phone transcripts, intelligence memoranda and ministry records from the roughly 18-hour parliamentary hostage crisis.
  • An internal CESID report says at least six intelligence officers knew of or supported the operation and later sought to conceal their roles using altered records and service equipment.
  • All six named agents were expelled, only two were prosecuted and one convicted officer received a six-year sentence before being pardoned after serving half.
  • The release triggered an immediate political clash as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez hailed a transparency milestone and opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo accused the government of selective disclosure and demanded current files.