Spain's PM rejects calls for snap election as scandals mount
MADRID, June 12 (Reuters) - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez asked citizens for forgiveness after his close ally quit his posts earlier on Thursday over graft allegations, and said his Socialist Party would undergo an external audit, but rejected the opposition's calls for an early election.
"We should not have trusted him (Santos Cerdan)," a sombre-looking Sanchez told a news briefing at his Socialist Party's headquarters, acknowledging that the accusations against him were very serious.
With various scandals swirling around his minority government, the case poses one of the biggest threats yet to the survival of the country's fragile leftist coalition government. Sanchez said, however, most of the attacks on his government were not grounded in reality.
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Latin America and Caribbean week in pictures
June 6-12, 2025 Argentina's highest court upheld a six-year prison sentence for former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in a ruling that permanently banned her from public office over the corruption conviction that found she had directed state contracts to a friend while she was the first lady and president. Miguel Uribe, a conservative Colombian presidential hopeful, was in critical condition after being shot in the head from close range during a campaign rally. People created a human chain along a Rio de Janeiro beach shore as part of a symbolic group hug with the sea to mark World Oceans Day. Brad Pitt donning a buzzcut arrives at a red carpet premiere in Mexico City to promote his latest film, 'F1: The Movie'. This gallery highlights some of the most compelling images made or published in the past week by The Associated Press from Latin America and the Caribbean. The selection was curated by AP photo editor Anita Baca, based in Mexico City. ___ Follow AP visual journalism: AP Images blog:
