Catalan separatist Puigdemont evades capture on chaotic return to Spain

Former Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont defied an arrest warrant to appear at a rally in Spain’s Barcelona on Thursday after seven years of self-imposed exile and then vanished, sparking a frantic search by police to apprehend him.

Amid a heavy police presence, Puigdemont spoke to a crowd of thousands of followers in the Catalan capital from a platform near the Catalan parliament, telling them he aimed to revive the independence drive that plunged Spain into political crisis in 2017.

“They thought they’d be celebrating my arrest and they thought that this punishment would dissuade us, and you,” he said. “Well, they are wrong.”

When he had finished speaking Puigdemont went backstage, after which police and media were unable to locate him.

A loudspeaker announcement called on the crowd to accompany Puigdemont in a march towards the Catalan parliament. But while senior officials of Puigdemont’s Junts party and members of the moderate separatist Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya made their way to the building, he instead got into a white car which belonged to a regional police officer, a Catalan government source said.

A spokesperson for the regional police, known as the Mossos d’Esquadra, said one of its officers had been arrested “as part of the investigation into Puigdemont’s whereabouts.”

TRAFFIC CHAOS

The hunt for the separatist leader created traffic chaos in Barcelona and near the border with France as police set up roadblocks and searched car boots.

The search for Puigdemont was later called off, a Mossos spokeseperson said, without explaining why.

Several Puigdemont supporters clashed with police in a bid to breach the cordon surrounding the park housing the parliament building. Officers clad in riot gear used batons and pepper spray to deter them.

Puigdemont, 61, fled to Belgium seven years ago after a failed secession bid and has been living in exile ever since.

He faces an arrest warrant for alleged embezzlement related to the 2017 independence referendum ruled illegal by the Spanish courts, but he insists the vote was not illegal and so the charges linked to it have no basis.

A debate to swear in Socialist Salvador Illa as Catalonia´s new president, ending a decade of separatist rule, began amid confusion and speculation about Puigdemont’s whereabouts.

A Catalan government spokesperson confirmed Puigdemont had evaded capture. “I can confirm Puigdemont has not been detained yet,” he said.

Reacting to news that Puigdemont had again absconded from under the noses of a large deployment of the Catalan regional police force, a Supreme Court source said the judge had been clear in his instructions that the former regional president was to be arrested.

“The Mossos know that they have a detention order. The judge’s writ reminded the state security forces that the national arrest warrant for aggravated embezzlement remained active and they had the obligation to detain him and bring him before the courts.”

Two national police unions criticised the failure to arrest Puigdemont.

“Where are the Mossos? The best-paid police force in Spain incapable of doing their job, of arresting the coup-monger and fugitive from justice Puigdemont,” police union Jusapol said on X.

Two sources with links to the Catalan government said it was realising it had a problem with some rogue Mossos, who appear to be loyal to Puigdemont.

“UNBEARABLE HUMILIATION”

Alberto Nunez Feijoo, leader of the opposition People´s Party (PP) blamed Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez for the situation, describing it as “an unbearable humiliation.”

“It´s unforgivable to damage Spain’s image like this,” Feijoo said on X.

A government spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment, nor did Puigdemont´s lawyer.

On Wednesday, Puigdemont had announced he had started his “return trip from exile”, saying he remained committed to attending Thursday’s session of the regional parliament, which is sitting to swear in the region’s new leader following an election in May, in which Puigdemont’s Junts party finished second.

His arrest could jeopardise the Socialist-led national government´s fragile alliance with Junts, on which it relies for legislative support.

The Socialists hope taking control in Catalonia after a decade of separatist rule will turn the page on the independence drive.

The Spanish parliament passed an amnesty law in May pardoning those involved in the failed 2017 secession bid, but the Supreme Court upheld arrest warrants for Puigdemont and two others who were also charged with embezzlement, ruling that the amnesty law does not apply to them.

The crowd of thousands, who had gathered near the parliament to welcome him, hoped his return would help build momentum towards independence, which has lost support in recent years.

“It represents the return of a symbol,” said Xavier Vizcaino, 63, who was wrapped in an independence flag.

No-one had expected him to disappear again.

Former Barcelona Mayor Xavier Trias, who was present at the gathering, described Puigdemont as a magician.

“It was magic,” he told Reuters of Puigdemont´s escape.