Spain demands answers after Puigdemont escape

A Spanish judge on Friday demanded answers from police and the government after wanted Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont was able to slip into the country and vanish again on Thursday.

Supreme Court Judge Pablo Llarena said he specifically wanted an explanation from Barcelona police, some of whom have been accused of colluding with Puigdemont's entourage to ensure his escape.

Puigdemont's lawyer said on Friday that the politician, who has lived in self-imposed exile since 2017, had already fled abroad again as a massive manhunt continued in Spain.

Who is Carles Puigdemont?

Puigdemont, 61, has led a Catalan separatist party now known as Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia), commonly referred to as just Junts since it was reorganized in 2020.

As regional president in 2017, he organized an independence referendum that was declared illegal by Madrid. He was removed from office by the central government and moved to Belgium after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Although Madrid has issued amnesty for a number of separatist leaders, Puigdemont is also wanted on embezzlement charges that are not included in the amnesty deal.

What happened in Barcelona?

Puigdemont was able to slip back into Spain on Thursday, where he gave an impassioned speech calling for more autonomy.

"We don't have the right to give up because the right to self-determination belongs to the Catalan people," he said.

Puigdemont spoke at the Catalan parliament in Barcelona as Salvador Illa, the region's first pro-Spanish leader in years, was elected by a vote of 68 lawmakers to 67.

Following his speech, he was able to vanish into the crowd without being apprehended.

Catalan regional police said that they had arrested two of their own officers for allegedly assisting in the escape. They had been waiting until this end of his talk in order to detain him "at the most opportune time so as not to generate public disorder."

Puigdemont's lawyer Gonzalo Boye sought to downplay the drama of his client's departure, saying "he completed his political work and went home after his work was done, like everyone else does."

Boye did not clarify where "home," is, but after initially fleeing to Belgium, Puigdemont has also been seen residing in the south of France.

Junts secretary-general, Jordi Turull, told Catalan radio on Friday that the former president was "going back to Waterloo" in Belgium. 

What's next for Junts?

In the wake of recent events, Turull said the party was reevaluating its support for the central government in Madrid.

Junts is not a member of Spain's Socialist coalition government under Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, but Sanchez's minority government relies on smaller parties like Junts to support its agenda.

Turull said on Friday that the situation in Catalonia has "changed a lot" since the government was formed in November of last year.

A deal between the Socialists and moderate separatist party ERC that has allowed Illa to govern Catalonia means the conditions are no longer the same as when Junts offered to support Sanchez, Turull said.

He added that there was only  "a very narrow path forward or no path at all" to peace with Madrid unless the central government agreed to more broadly apply the amnesty deal for separatist leaders.

es/ab (AFP, dpa, Reuters)