El Cesid Al Descubierto

From its origins as an internal information service to its expansion in the 1990s, the Centro Superior de Información de la Defensa (CESID) transcended its role as an intelligence service to become a tool of political control that left a deep mark on Spanish history. After the crisis unleashed by the attempted coup d'état of 23-F, Emilio Alonso Manglano assumed the leadership of Spanish intelligence. His appointment, aimed at modernizing the Center, triggered fourteen years of dictatorial control that transformed CESID into a body at the service not only of the PSOE, as has been erroneously believed, but also of the then vice-president of Felipe González's government, Narcís Serra. This powerful Manglano-Serra tandem managed a State within the State, marked by scandals such as illegal wiretapping of public figures, including Juan Carlos de Borbón. Antonio J. Candil, a privileged witness from inside CESID during a crucial decade, provides a unique and revealing look at all these events. In addition, in partial memoir format, the author recounts the missions he carried out for Spanish intelligence not only in Madrid, but also in Rome, London, Brussels and Hong Kong, in a period marked by the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the Soviet Empire, Spain's entry into NATO, the Thatcher and Reagan presidencies, and the threat of terrorism on European soil. In the midst of today's security uncertainty, CESID Uncovered offers an illuminating look at the history of the intelligence service in Spain, casting a critical light on the past and its impact in the face of emerging threats on a global stage.