Defiant separatist leader Carles Puigdemont returns to Barcelona — and vanishes

BARCELONA, Spain — Seven years after fleeing Spain to avoid arrest, Carles Puigdemont reappeared in Barcelona in front of hundreds of cheering supporters on Thursday outside the Catalan parliament.

Then he promptly vanished.

At the end of his speech, the politician descended from the stage, apparently to take part in a march to the parliament. Within moments he disappeared into the crowd, and was not among the group of politicians that concluded the parade through the streets of the city.

Puigdemont, the figurehead of the region’s separatist movement, appeared on a stage next to the city’s Triumphal Arch. Supporters formed a human barrier around him. The politician is subject to an active arrest warrant and police forces are under orders to detain him if they see him.

“Despite all the efforts to do us harm, I have come here today to remind them that we are still here and that we do not have to give up,” Puigdemont told the crowd. “Long live Free Catalonia!”

It is unclear where Puigdemont is now, or whether he will attempt to enter the Catalan parliament, which has been sealed off by police forces.

The former Catalan president announced his intention to return to Barcelona on Wednesday, saying he intended to be back in Barcelona for a vote on Socialist Salvador Illa becoming regional president, which would put an end to 14 years of separatist governments. 

Puigdemont intends to march to the Catalan parliament accompanied by his supporters. Police forces have sealed off the building and are guarding the entrances.

Expectation was high ahead of Puigdemont’s promised appearance. In the hour before the event’s scheduled start at 9 a.m., booming music and large screens recounted the past seven years of the Catalan leader’s political trials and tribulations.

Attendees chanted “Puigdemont, our president!” and “independence!” while waiting for his arrival, with some wearing masks depicting the former Catalan president’s face.

“I’m not happy. Because I would have liked to avoid this unpleasant situation of seeing him taken by the police. I’d love to see him make a grand entrance,” one supporter in the crowd told POLITICO. “But now I am afraid that it will be a humiliating situation, maybe they will take him to Madrid just like prey in a major hunt.”

Should Puigdemont be arrested, he will likely be transferred to Madrid to appear before the Supreme Court, when a judge will decide whether to send him to prison until trial, or release him on bail.  

‘Attendees chanted “Puigdemont, our president!” and “independence!” while waiting for his arrival, with some wearing masks depicting the former Catalan president’s face.’ | Max Griera/Politico

Puigdemont hadn’t set foot on Spanish soil since 2017 when authorities ordered his arrest for organizing the region’s illegal independence referendum. An arrest warrant in his name remained in force — leaving his only option being to get back into Spain covertly.

In 2017, he evaded the Spanish authorities by sneaking out of Spain across the border, finding refuge in Waterloo, just outside Brussels. From there he led the Catalan independence movement’s presence on the international stage, by becoming a Member of the European Parliament in 2019.