In a ruling issued on 29 October 2026 an investigating judge has stated that Emilio Argüeso, then the Generalitat’s Secretary for Emergencies and director of the Agencia Valenciana de Seguridad y Respuesta a las Emergencias (AVSRE), Centro de Coordinación Operativo Integrado (Cecopi) for the 29 October 2024 . His own name appeared on the list of invitees. The judge’s finding contradicts the position taken by Argüeso’s defence, which argued that he was not even required to attend the meeting.
The ruling notes that the AVSRE sent invitations to Cecopi members. This supports the view that the operational organisation of the meeting fell to the authority then headed by Argüeso. The Cecopi is the integrated coordination committee that, in the Comunitat Valenciana brings together the regional government, state services and emergency responders to coordinate their work during major incidents.
Emilio Argüeso’s defence is seeking to shift the focus of responsibility to the then head of the department, Salomé Pradas . She is alleged to have been responsible both for convening the Cecopi and for the authority to send the mass alert system Es-Alert . This has led to clear tensions between the defence strategies of the two accused. The investigating judge sets out these positions without currently making any legal assessment of them.
Another strand of the investigation concerns the alert issued on 29 October 2024. According to Emilio Argüeso’s testimony to the judge, around an hour elapsed between the decision to send an Es-Alert warning and its actual transmission. The precise chronology, including who authorised each step and when, remains central to the evidential inquiry. The aim is to clarify the chains of command and communication within the Cecopi and the authorities involved in Valencia.
The court considers it established that Emilio Argüeso convened the Cecopi on 29 October 2024 and that the AVSRE handled the organisational arrangements. It has not been decided whether, or to what extent, this gives rise to criminal liability. The investigation into the response to the DANA in the Comunitat Valenciana is continuing. It could lead to organisational changes to future alert and coordination procedures, particularly regarding the use of Es-Alert, the definition of clear responsibilities and documented authorisation processes.
Until charges are brought or the case is dismissed, established findings must remain distinct from the conflicting accounts given by those involved. The key points are outlined in the ruling of 29 October 2026; further examination of documents and testimony is intended to clarify what happened on 29 October 2024.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).