The Spanish government is reeling from a humiliating series of events after the nation’s “most wanted” fugitive snuck back into the country, gave a rousing speech in the centre of Barcelona, and escaped, kickstarting a massive manhunt involving hundreds of officers and dozens of roadblocks.
Earlier this week, rumours began to swirl that fugitive politician Carles Puigdemont, the former leader of Catalonia’s independence movement, had returned from exile in Belgium – who could blame him – to his home city of Barcelona.
On Thursday, Puigdemont suddenly appeared at an impromptu rally in Ciutadella Park, where he declared “Long live a free Catalonia!” to an ecstatic crowd of several thousand. His defiant address coincided with the swearing-in of Catalonia’s new, pro-union, regional government, a body he decries as illegitimate.
Following his brazen speech, Puigdemont was whisked away in a car surrounded by a crowd of supporters as riot police closed in on the park. Inexplicably, his vehicle evaded capture and vanished into the city’s maze.
Reports indicate that local police may have even had to work overtime, a practice unheard of for Spanish civil servants, as they desperately searched for the fugitive politician.
Incompetence is perhaps not entirely to blame, however, as today two regional police officers were arrested, accused of assisting Puigdemont’s escape. Empty-handed, the manhunt has now concluded in embarrassment, as a top ally of Puigdemont has confirmed the fugitive’s safe return to his home in Waterloo.
Puigdemont’s homecoming comes at a time when el procés, the drive for independence, appears defeated. The movement’s energy has subsided, Catalonia’s new leaders are anti-separatism, and Spain’s socialist ruling party granted amnesty to the great majority of the doomed 2017 referendum’s organisers with the exception of Puigdemont.
Thus, Puigdemont’s bold, Hollywood-esque return may be the last desperate attempt of a fading dissident trying to resurrect his cause.
Or perhaps the wild, undeniably cool, event will reinvigorate Catalan nationalism as the city revels in a moment of pure Spanish humiliation.
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