The former leader of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, has made a daring return to Spain after seven years in exile, sparking a dramatic manhunt by police in Barcelona. Despite facing an outstanding arrest warrant, Puigdemont was seen leaving a rally in a car, prompting Catalan police to set up roadblocks in an operation dubbed “Jaula” or “cage” to locate him.
Puigdemont, who has been living in Brussels for several years, was indicted on charges related to a failed bid for Catalan independence in 2017. The region’s pro-independence leaders, including Puigdemont, organized a referendum that was deemed illegal by Spain’s constitutional court, leading to a declaration of independence for Catalonia and subsequent direct rule by Madrid.
On Thursday morning, Puigdemont addressed supporters near the Catalan parliament before mysteriously disappearing. Despite expectations of his presence at the investiture ceremony for a new Catalan government head, Puigdemont’s whereabouts remain unknown.
His return has stirred controversy, with some allies criticizing the police operation as a hunt paid for by public money to please authorities in Madrid. Meanwhile, the far-right Vox party has vowed to ensure Puigdemont’s arrest, while Spanish commentators question why he has not been apprehended despite announcing his return.
Puigdemont’s motives for returning include pressuring authorities to apply the country’s new amnesty law to him and disrupting the investiture of a non-nationalist leader as the new Catalan president. He also aims to assert his party as the main pro-independence force and cast his separatist rival as complicit with Spanish unionism.
As the search for Puigdemont continues, tensions remain high in Catalonia, with the former leader’s return shaking up the political landscape in the region.
