08 Aug 2024 | 11:52 AM UTC
Spain: Major police operation underway in Barcelona as police search for Carles Puigdemont, Aug. 8 /update 1
Heightened security measures imposed throughout Barcelona, Spain, Aug. 8 as police conduct manhunt. Ground travel disruptions likely.
Catalonia's regional police force (Mossos d'Esquadra) has implemented a major police operation in Barcelona on Aug. 8 following the earlier appearance of wanted former regional president Carles Puigdemont at the Parliament of Catalonia. Police have activated "Operation Jaula," deploying numerous additional personnel, searching various premises, and closing multiple roads leaving the city to prevent Puigdemont's escape. Police are operational throughout the city and to its south and indicate they may take steps to seal the border with France in the coming hours. The Mossos d'Esquadra has announced the arrest of one police officer for allegedly aiding Puigdemont's escape.
Police have erected checkpoints on the B-10 coastal highway between Barcelonetta and Zona Franca, the C-10 in the northeast of Barcelona, Ronda de Dalt (B-20) in the north, and the B-20 in the Vall d'Hebron area in the northwest. The B-23 highway to the west of the city has reportedly been closed in both directions. Outside Barcelona, police have also erected a checkpoint on the AP-7 in La Jonquera in the direction of the French border. Police are conducting thorough searches of vehicles, causing extensive delays to traffic moving away from the city.
Heightened security measures and associated disruptions will likely persist throughout the day or until Puigdemont is captured. Police may expand the search grid depending on developments on the ground and are highly unlikely to give advanced warning or additional checkpoints, search operations, or border closures.
Consider taking alternative routes to circumvent any related disruptions. Heed all instructions issued by local officials.
Puigdemont fled Spain in 2017 amid allegations of embezzlement following the illegal Catalonian independence referendum. Although the government has since granted an amnesty to those involved in the referendum, that does not extend to those implicated in the embezzlement case.
Puigdemont briefly appeared in the Parliament of Catalonia and at the Triumphal Arch amid the inauguration of the new leader of the regional parliament in the city center. Although police had intended to quietly arrest him once he left the stage, Puigdemont disappeared into the crowd around the Triumphal Arch, sparking the regional manhunt.
