José Luis Cortés Cortés, one of four people arrested in Ibiza in the Amarelo-Zielo investigation into alleged money laundering and organised crime, appeared on Vox’s candidate list for Sant Josep de sa Talaia in the 2019 local elections.

Cortés was listed in tenth place on the municipal candidacy, according to information published by La Voz de Ibiza on 21 October 2026. Vox has told the outlet that his inclusion came through a place reserved for Actúa Baleares, the party that joined Vox’s electoral platform for the local and regional elections that year.

The party also insists that Cortés has never been a member of Vox. His appearance on the electoral list therefore establishes a past candidacy, but not party membership.

Vox says the place came through Actúa Baleares

Sources from Vox’s island leadership told La Voz de Ibiza that Cortés was included through the quota reserved for Actúa Baleares as part of the electoral arrangement between the two parties in 2019.

The same sources said candidates standing under the Vox electoral platform were required to provide a criminal-record certificate and that Cortés had no criminal record at the time.

Vox stressed that Cortés “is not and has never been a member of Vox”.

In the 2019 Sant Josep municipal election, Vox won one council seat. Cortés’s tenth-place position was therefore outside the number of seats the party ultimately secured.

His appearance on the list does not establish that he held elected office or exercised any municipal responsibilities.

Arrest linked to the Amarelo-Zielo investigation

Cortés is one of four people arrested in Ibiza during the wider Amarelo-Zielo operation, a joint investigation by Spain’s National Police and Guardia Civil, coordinated with Europol.

The Ministry of the Interior announced on 2 October that the operation had resulted in 27 arrests across Spain and the Dominican Republic. Investigators allege that the network was involved in international drug trafficking and used companies and luxury property developments to launder money.

According to the ministry, the organisation allegedly channelled illicit funds into real estate, including developments and luxury villas in Ibiza, Marbella and Madrid. Authorities also reported that assets had been frozen and that the sale of 70 properties and 16 luxury villas had been prohibited.

These allegations concern the wider investigation and should not be interpreted as proof that every person arrested played the same role.

His lawyer says he is not accused of drug trafficking

Cortés’s lawyer, criminal defence specialist Jaime Campaner, has specifically clarified that his client is not accused of drug trafficking.

According to the lawyer, the preliminary allegations against Cortés concern suspected money laundering and membership of a criminal organisation. The investigation remains ongoing, and the precise conduct attributed to him has not been established publicly in the available information.

This distinction is important because the wider police operation concerns a network suspected of both drug trafficking and money laundering, but the allegations against individual detainees may differ.

Cortés was reported to be in provisional detention following his arrest. His defence has challenged the detention measure, and no conviction has been reported in relation to the allegations discussed here.

A separate political connection from 2019

The revelation about Cortés’s candidacy adds a political dimension to the case because his name appeared on a municipal electoral list associated with Vox seven years before his arrest.

However, the available information does not establish that Vox knew of or had any connection to the alleged criminal activity now under investigation. The party’s response has focused on the circumstances of his inclusion on the list and its assertion that he was never a member.

Cortés is also the husband of former Ibiza Town Council councillor Ana Ferrer Prohías, who resigned from her council position earlier in October following his arrest. No information cited in this report establishes that Ferrer is implicated in the criminal investigation.

The investigation into the alleged money-laundering network continues. The allegations against Cortés and the other suspects remain subject to the judicial process, and responsibility can only be established through the courts.