After completing military training in 2006, Lieutenant Colonel Ignacio Varela (b. 1981) received his first assignment as a Lieutenant leading the Citizen Security Unit in Chipiona, a coastal town in southern Spain. From 2009 to 2010, he served in Gambia with FRONTEX, working on initiatives to combat irregular immigration, particularly to Spain’s Canary Islands.
In August 2010, after his promotion to Captain, he took command of the Traffic Unit in Córdoba, Andalusia, a position he held until August 2016, when he was promoted to Major and moved to the Civil Guard’s Traffic Unit Headquarters in Madrid. There, as Chief of the Investigation Unit, he focused on streamlining and enhancing road accident investigation protocols.
During his time as Major, he also spent a year with the Traffic Unit of the Madrid region. In February 2024, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and reassigned to the Traffic Unit Headquarters, where he now oversees statistical analysis, forecasting, and the technological tools required for service as part of the Information Technology and Statistics Office.
Since 2024, he has also represented Spain on the ROADPOL council and the OPG.