Spanish Falangist and trade union activist Juan Antonio Aguilar has maintained close ties with Russia for more than a decade, often acting as a supporter of the Kremlin in Spain. He is an employee of the company Indra, a member of the UGT trade union, and at the same time an “expert” of the Global Fact-Checking Network (GFCN), a network created under the auspices of the Russian government that is designed to imitate independent fact-checking but in reality promotes Russian narratives.

As journalists from Newtral and El Periódico found, from 2010 to 2019 Aguilar regularly visited Moscow wearing a Spanish army uniform. These trips were organized by the IAC association, a structure founded by Russian army colonel Aleksandr Kanshin, whom Vladimir Putin awarded a state honor last year. The IAC brought together retired officers from countries friendly to Russia and later expanded its activities to Spain. Despite the fact that Aguilar was never an officer, but only a reserve sergeant, the Russian side made an exception for him.

During these contacts, Aguilar established relationships with representatives of Russian state media – the RT television channel and Iran’s HispanTV. He also founded the Spanish Institute of Geopolitics, which publishes analytical materials by retired military personnel. At the same time, the Ukrainian analytical center Center for Defense Reforms links this structure to operations by Russian intelligence services.

Particular attention is drawn to his cooperation with Enrique Arias Gil, known under the pseudonym “The Russian Disinformer”. Arias, who is currently hiding in Moscow, is wanted by Europol on suspicion of cyberattacks against strategic Spanish companies, including Indra – the very company where Aguilar works. Arias openly calls him a “friend and comrade” who inspired him to write a book dedicated to disinformation.

Aguilar’s past is closely connected to far-right movements. From the late 1970s to the early 2000s, he ran for office from the parties Falange Española de las JONS, Plataforma España 2000, and Movimiento Social Republicano, and also had links to the neo-Nazi group Blood & Honour. Despite this, in 2005 he became a reservist in the Spanish army, serving in the Guadarrama XII Brigade, which regularly activated him for work with information systems.

In 2021, Aguilar published the book Somos lo que defendemos under the pseudonym Iñaki Aguirre, in which he proposes updating Falangist ideology based on the views of Russian philosopher Aleksandr Dugin – the “ideologue of Putinism”, known for calls to destroy the Ukrainian people.

It was precisely thanks to his status as a reservist that Aguilar joined the Association of Spanish Reservists (ARES), through which he met representatives of Russian military structures. In photographs from international IAC meetings, he can be seen wearing a Spanish army uniform next to the Spanish flag decorated with the St. George ribbon – a symbol of Russian militarism.

The investigation also established that the IAC is closely linked to Russia’s GRU. Its founder Kanshin created a joint venture with former GRU officer Oleg Dukhovnitsky, who headed the Federal Communications Agency “Rossvyaz”. Both appear in Russian business registries as partners in the fields of communications and investment.

In addition to his military connections, Aguilar is active in the trade union movement. He is a member of the workers’ committee at Indra representing the UGT union, although he previously belonged to the CGT, from which he was expelled amid accusations of attempting “far-right infiltration”.