Transport Minister Óscar Puente resigns
Óscar Puente, Spain's Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, has resigned. His departure follows days of political pressure after he suggested cutting the Madrid-Barcelona AVE high-speed line for up to two years to carry out renovation works, a proposal met with fierce opposition from the Generalitat and Catalan economic sectors.
On Tuesday 3rd November 2026, just hours before his resignation, Puente backtracked, stating that suspending the AVE line was only a working hypothesis and that the government was now "more inclined to reconcile the use of the line with the works". The U-turn came after Salvador Illa, President of the Generalitat, publicly rejected the idea the previous day, echoing widespread Catalan political and economic opposition.
At a press conference after the Council of Ministers, Puente maintained that service disruption was one option under consideration, but insisted that maintaining rail operations during maintenance remained the preferred course. The reversal was confirmed minutes later by Sílvia Paneque, spokesperson for the Catalan government, who said: "We celebrate that this is the decision and that the service can be maintained."
Despite his earlier denials of any intention to step down, Puente resigned late on Tuesday. His tenure will be remembered for the fatal train collision in Urda (Toledo) in October 2026, which killed 69 people, and for previous controversies over rail safety and management. It remains unclear whether a new minister will be appointed or if another minister will temporarily assume the portfolio ahead of upcoming elections.
Runaway freight wagons cause scare in Martorell
On Tuesday 3rd November 2026, just hours before Puente’s resignation, a serious incident occurred on the rail network near Martorell. Three runaway wagons from a parked freight train on a private Cargill line became uncoupled and collided with a stationary Renfe Mercancías locomotive.
The driver, who was alone on board, was injured and taken to a medical centre as a precaution, though injuries were not serious. The wagons had been part of a cereal-carrying convoy parked on a private track connected to the national network. The cause of the uncoupling is under investigation. The collision occurred at a switch point used for freight operations, affecting both freight and Rodalies commuter services.
Judge Llarena closes Puigdemont investigation
In a significant development in the long-running 1-O case, investigating judge Pablo Llarena has formally closed the prosecution against former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and ex-ministers Toni Comín and Lluís Puig. The move, confirmed on Tuesday 3rd November 2026, follows a Constitutional Court ruling in October 2026 that opened the door to amnesty under Organic Law 1/2024.
The impossibility of continuing criminal prosecution does not derive from decriminalization, but from the legislative decision to amnesty specific conduct.
In a four-page resolution, Llarena stated that while there remain "indications of participation" in the 2017 independence referendum, the amnesty law prevents further prosecution. He referred the case to the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court, presided over by Manuel Marchena, to formally dismiss proceedings.
Llarena also rejected an appeal by Puigdemont’s lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, to transfer the case to the High Court of Justice of Catalonia. Puigdemont, Comín, and Puig remain abroad, though Comín and Puig have already returned to Spain after the lifting of their arrest warrants.
Salvador Illa’s chief of staff investigated
Eduard Rivas, until Tuesday 3rd November 2026 the chief of staff to President Salvador Illa, has been placed under judicial investigation over alleged favouritism in public contracts during his tenure as mayor of Esparreguera, a municipality in Baix Llobregat.
A judge in Martorell is investigating messages found on the mobile phone of Jordi M. S., former manager of the Private Foundation for Labour Inclusion (FIL), in which Rivas is quoted saying: "We wrote the [tender] specifications thinking of you" in relation to a 2020 gardening contract. The Mossos d'Esquadra, acting on a judicial order, seized Rivas’s phone to verify the exchange.
The investigation focuses on two contracts awarded in 2023 and 2024 for street cleaning and green space maintenance, worth around €4 million. The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office suspects prevarication, influence peddling, and embezzlement. Other officials, including first deputy mayor Natividad Sánchez García, are also under scrutiny. Rivas has not yet been summoned to testify, but stepped down from his role on Monday 2nd November 2026.
Sources: Crónica Global, Ara, elconstitucional.es, El País, El Periódico.
