MADRID — The head of Spain’s intelligence service was ousted by the government on Tuesday after it was revealed that its agency had used powerful spyware to infiltrate the mobile phones of Catalan separatist politicians.
The government’s resignation of Paz Esteban, the first woman to head the intelligence agency, known in Spain as CNI, for the Centro Nacional de Inteligencia, is the most serious result yet of a phone hacking scandal involving the Pegasus spyware developed by an Israeli company, an issue that keeps Spanish politics under its spell.
Ms Esteban was removed just days after appearing before a parliamentary committee to discuss how her agency had used Pegasus. While the committee met behind closed doors, Spanish media later reported that Ms Esteban confirmed to lawmakers at the meeting that the CNI had hacked into the mobile phones of Catalan separatist politicians. She claimed that this was done with the permission of the Spanish judiciary.
The committee hearing took place shortly after the Spanish government said last week that it itself had fallen victim to the Pegasus spyware, which had infected the mobile phones of some of the country’s top officials, including Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Secretary of Defense Margarita Robles, a year ago. The government said it was the victim of an “illegal and outside” break-in, without specifying who it suspected of masterminding the Pegasus hacking and downloading phone records of its top officials.
The Pegasus software was developed by the NSO Group, an Israeli company, in part to help governments detect criminal and terrorist activities. The software allows users to track every aspect of a target’s phone, including calls, messages, photos, and video. But its use has sparked scandal in several countries, and last November the Biden administration blacklisted the NSO group.
The Pegasus scandal in Spain has shocked the minority government of Mr Sánchez, whose Socialist Party has for the past five years relied on the support of smaller left-wing and separatist parties. These include Catalan politicians who have continued to push for their region’s independence after a failed attempt to secede from Spain in 2017.
Politicians who helped keep Mr Sánchez in power welcomed the ouster of Ms Esteban on Tuesday. Ionne Belarra, Spain’s Social Affairs Minister and leader of the far-left Unidas Podemos party, wrote on Twitter that “taking responsibility is a fundamental issue of democratic health.”
Gabriel Rufián, the parliamentary spokesman for Esquerra Republicana, a Catalan separatist party, said at a press conference: “It seems logical to me that the person with the highest responsibility for intelligence should assume responsibilities.” But he also called on the government to release documents that could help explain how Pegasus infiltrated Spanish politics.
Opposition politicians said Ms Esteban had been made a scapegoat to cover up the shortcomings of Mr Sánchez’s government and serious breaches of Spain’s security apparatus. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the recently elected leader of the main right-wing People’s Party, called the removal of Ms Esteban “unjustified” and “an authentic insult to our country”. Mr Feijóo also accused Mr Sánchez of sacrificing the Spanish intelligence chief to maintain the support of separatist lawmakers. Santiago Abascal, the leader of the far-right Vox party, said Mr Sánchez had “decided to criminalize those who protect us”, a reference to Spanish intelligence.
Ms. Esteban has been the head of Spanish intelligence since early 2020. The socialist-led government has appointed Esperanza Casteleiro, 65, a former Defense and Secret Service official, as the new chief of the CNI, replacing Ms Esteban. In a press conference on Tuesday, Ms Robles, the defense secretary, declined to elaborate on the reasons for Ms Esteban’s ouster.