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Carles Puigdemont Returns to Spain, Prompting Police Hunt Amid Independence Tensions. Carles Puigdemont, the former leader of Catalonia, returned to Spain after seven years in exile, prompting a police hunt in Barcelona, BBC News reports. The Catalan police, Mossos d'Esquadra, have set up roadblocks in and out of Barcelona to find Puigdemont, who left a rally in a car. Puigdemont, who has been living in Brussels, is wanted for charges linked to the 2017 Catalan independence bid. At a rally near the Catalan parliament, Puigdemont declared his return was to remind supporters of their ongoing struggle, emphasizing that holding a referendum is not a crime. Despite expectations, Puigdemont did not appear at the Catalan parliament investiture ceremony, prompting a city-wide search. Catalonia's interior department confirmed roadblocks across Barcelona, and Spanish TV showed police stopping cars near the French border. Puigdemont ally Aleix Sarri criticized the police operation, accusing it of being politically motivated to appease Madrid. Police used pepper spray to disperse Puigdemont supporters near the parliament, while Vox party's Ignacio Garriga called for Puigdemont's arrest. Puigdemont aims to pressure authorities into applying the new amnesty law to him and disrupt the investiture of Socialist Salvador Illa as Catalan president Puigdemont's return also seeks to assert his Junts per Catalunya party as the main pro-independence force and criticize ERC for supporting Illa's investiture, complicating ERC's position since they are responsible for the Catalan police until the new government is in place.
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