The National Police have arrested the son of the Mayor of Santa Cruz de Bezana, Carmen Pérez (PP), along with another young man aged 20, both identified as the alleged perpetrators of the attack involving homemade explosive devices at the PSOE headquarters in Cantabria that occurred on 25 April 2025 during an event focused on historical and democratic memory, attended by over 70 people. As noted by Cadena SER in Cantabria and confirmed by elDiario.es through sources in the investigation, both detainees are expected to be brought before the judiciary this Friday as suspected culprits of this attack.
The incident under investigation occurred when a hooded individual entered the PSOE headquarters in Cantabria, located on Vargas Street in Santander, and threw homemade explosive devices containing flammable liquid inside plastic bottles, during an event on democratic memory, attended by their Secretary General, Pedro Casares, several party members, and a senior government official from Spain.
The bottles ultimately exploded at the main entrance of the socialist headquarters after one of the attendees at the event, which had over 70 participants, managed to grab them and throw them outside before they detonated, as ultimately happened without causing any injuries. The message on these homemade devices read: “Against vengeful lies. PSOE = Satan”.
Following the release of this information, the Mayor of Santa Cruz de Bezana issued a statement to the media confirming that her son had been arrested by the National Police for his alleged involvement in this case: “My son is of legal age, lives independently outside Cantabria, and his alleged participation cannot in any way be linked to my political activity, the party to which I belong, or my responsibilities as mayor. It is a personal action for which he alone is responsible, and thus I trust that there will be no political exploitation or parallel trials,” stated Carmen Pérez (PP).
What occurred against the PSOE headquarters is a despicable act that must be unequivocally condemned and has no place in a democratic society. Violence is never the answer, and in our democracy, only coexistence, tolerance and respect should prevail.
Carmen Pérez (PP)
— Mayor of Santa Cruz de Bezana
Additionally, in light of her son’s alleged involvement in the events that occurred last April, the Mayor of Santa Cruz de Bezana expressed her “strongest condemnation of any violent act, regardless of its origin or target.” “What happened at the PSOE headquarters is a despicable act that must be condemned without nuance and has no place in a democratic society. Violence is never the answer, and in our democracy, only coexistence, tolerance, and respect should prevail,” she emphasised.
“As a mother, my son’s situation causes me profound sorrow and immense concern, but I have complete faith in the justice system, and if his responsibility is proven, he will have to face the consequences like any citizen,” concluded the PP leader in her statement.
This arrest comes amid a national debate on political violence and follows recent comments from the Secretary General of the Popular Party, Miguel Tellado, who, in response to the assassination of the Trumpist activist Charlie Kirk in the United States, lectured the left on “political polarisation” in Spain.
