The head of the UME contradicts the government on the military deployment in Valencia

The government insists that we should trust official information, but what happens when it contradicts itself?

Pedro Sánchez took 4 days to order a large military deployment and justified it by lying
The cold drop and the autonomous regions: they talk about Valencia as if it were Portugal

Twelve days ago, the head of the Military Emergency Unit (UME), Lieutenant General Francisco Javier Marcos, stated that his unit intervened "when the Valencian Government gave the green light" and added: "We could not enter without authorization". This message coincided with the speech of Pedro Sánchez's government on the military deployment in Valencia, claiming that this deployment came late because of the government of the Valencian Community, chaired by Carlos Mazón, of the Popular Party.

In fact, on November 2, Sánchez announced the deployment of 5,000 soldiers claiming that Mazón had requested them, as an excuse to justify a four-day delay in that deployment. Sánchez added that "if the Valencian Community requires more troops, machinery, financing or technical advice, all it has to do is ask for it and it will be provided". These types of statements have been the line of other members of the government and its related media to hold Mazón responsible for the delay in the deployment of the military, despite the fact that the government did not need the permission of the regional government to do so.

In a press conference with the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, this Saturday the head of the UME has given a different version, stating that when they became aware that the situation was getting complicated, before it was raised to level 2, "we left anticipating official orders". Following the press conference, the government-controlled Efe agency published a news item stating that the head of the UME "wanted to address some information that has called into question the agility and speed with which the military acted and, to do so, has accompanied himself with images taken after 2:00 p.m. on October 29."

This new statement by the head of the UME not only contradicts the one he himself made twelve days ago, but also contradicts the government's version blaming Mazón for the delay in the military deployment in Valencia. This statement makes it clear that the government did not need Mazón's permission to deploy the Armed Forces. If Sánchez ordered the military deployment four days late, it was because he wanted to, and not because of other administrations.

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Photo: Ministerio de Defensa.