Police in Barcelona are hunting for former Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont, who made a dramatic return to Spain after seven years in exile and a massive arrest warrant.
The Mosos d’Esquadra (Catalan police) have set up roadblocks on the roads leading to and from Barcelona as part of Operation Jaula, or “the prison”. The aim of the operation is to find President Puchidemon, who was seen leaving a rally this morning in a car.
According to reports, the operation was concluded after several hours, but Mr. Puchidemon is still not believed to have been found.
He has lived in Brussels for most of the past few years since being charged by police in connection with a failed attempt at Catalan independence in 2017.
At the time, Catalan independence leaders, including Puigdemont, organized a referendum that was ruled illegal by Spain’s Constitutional Court and later declared the region independent. Madrid soon imposed direct rule on the region, and Puigdemont fled to Belgium.
On Thursday morning, President Puigdemont gave a brief speech to hundreds of supporters gathered outside the Catalan parliament in Barcelona ahead of the appointment of the new head of the Catalan government.
He said he returned “to remind people that we are still here” after shouting “Long live a free Catalonia!”
He added that “holding a referendum is not and will not be a crime.”
After that, Mr. Fujidemon went missing.
Many expected him to appear at Parliament House in time for the swearing-in ceremony, which is set to begin at 10 a.m. (8 a.m. GMT), but he has been nowhere to be seen and his whereabouts remain unclear.
Late Thursday, one of his allies said he had spoken to President Putdemon since his escape.
In a post, X Lluís Llach, president of the Catalan parliament and a pro-independence group, said Mr Puigdemont was “healthy, safe and, above all, free”.
Mr Puigdemont’s lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, told local station TV3 on Thursday evening: “[Puigdemont] “He went back home to his job,” he said, but did not specify where that job was.
A spokesman for Mosos Desquadra said a Catalan police officer had been detained on suspicion of helping Mr Puigdemont escape.
According to Spanish media, the officer was in possession of the car that fled after Puigdemont gave his speech. Police later detained a second officer.
Roadblocks were put in place around Barcelona for a time on Thursday morning, and Spanish television showed footage from La Jonquera, a community on the border with France, where police were seen stopping cars and checking boots.
Alex Sarri, a Putidemont ally, criticized the police operation against X, saying: “Hundreds of police officers surround Barcelona to arrest President Putidemont. It’s a hunt paid for with public money to please the powers that be in Madrid. This is not democracy.”
Police reportedly used pepper spray to disperse Puigdemont supporters who had gathered near parliament.
Ignacio Garriga, a member of the far-right Vox party that strongly opposes Catalan independence, said Vox would “do whatever it takes to have Puigdemont arrested”.
Some Spanish commentators are puzzled by the fact that police have failed to arrest President Puigdemont despite his announcement earlier this week that he would return to Catalonia.
He posted a video to X on Wednesday saying he had “begun my journey back from exile,” adding that his arrest was “unlawful and arbitrary.”
There appear to be several reasons for Carles Puigdemont’s return to Spain.
First, he wants to pressure the authorities to implement it. The country’s new amnesty law – Withdraw legal action against Catalan nationalists – His application was accepted after the Supreme Court ruled against him on technical grounds.
He is also trying today to block the election of Socialist Salvador Illa as Catalonia’s new president.
Spain’s former health minister has become the region’s first non-nationalist leader since 2010.
For Mr Puchidemon, the most important thing is to maintain that he and his Popular Union for Catalonia (JxCat) are pro-independence forces.
He wants to accuse his separatist rival, the Catalan Republican Left (ERC), of colluding with Spanish federalism by agreeing to support Mr Illa’s inauguration.
The return of the former regional president is particularly uncomfortable for the party, as the ERC will still be in charge of the Catalan police until a new regional government is in place.
