Catalan separatist Puigdemont evades capture on chaotic return to Spain

By Joan Faus

BARCELONA (Reuters) -Former Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont defied an arrest warrant to appear at a rally in Barcelona on Thursday after seven years of self-imposed exile, before reportedly fleeing the scene with a car belonging to a regional police officer.

Amid a heavy police presence, Puigdemont had told a crowd of thousands of followers in the Catalan capital 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," he said. "Well, they are wrong."

Authorities suspect that, when he had finished speaking, Puigdemont got into a white car belonging to a police officer and left the vicinity, a Catalan interior department spokesperson said, sparking a frantic search by authorities.

The regional police, known as the Mossos d'Esquadra, said two of its officers had been arrested as part of their investigation into Puigdemont's whereabouts, including the owner of the car.

The separatist leader, 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 a 2017 independence referendum ruled illegal by the Spanish courts. Puigdemont says the vote was legal and therefore the charges linked to it have no basis.

A Mossos spokesman said there was no prior arrangement with Puigdemont for his arrest and the force had decided the detention should be made "at the most appropriate time so as not to generate public disorder."

Puigdemont ally Laura Borras described the arrested officer on X as "a patriot and exemplary Mosso."

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

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

DETENTION ORDER

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

"The Mossos know that they have a detention order... they had the obligation to detain him and bring him before the courts," the source said.

Two national police unions also 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 had identified a problem with some rogue Mossos, who appear to be loyal to Puigdemont.

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

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

Catalonia's parliament on Thursday afternoon confirmed Salvador Illa, an ally of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, as head of the Catalan government.

"I will govern for everyone having into account the plurality and diversity of Catalonia," Illa said.

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 rally, marvelled at Puigdemont's flight.

"It was magic," he told Reuters.

(Reporting by David Latona, Joan Faus, Horaci Garcia, Michael Gore and Belen Carreno; writing by David Latona and Charlie Devereux; editing by Aislinn Laing, Sharon Singleton and Toby Chopra)