Catalan police continue search for Puigdemont: 'He could still be in Barcelona'

The search for former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont in Catalonia continues despite information that he has already left Spain. 

The head of the Catalan police, Eduard Sallent, said he "does not rule out" that Puigdemont is still in Barcelona. 

This morning, both Puigdemont's lawyer and his right-hand man, Jordi Turull, said he was already out of the country on his way to Belgium.

But Sallent accused them of "spreading misinformation", adding that the Mossos cannot believe information from someone who helped Puigdemont escape.

Carles Puigdemont returned to Barcelona on Thursday for the first time since he left after organizing the 2017 independence referendum, for which he is still wanted by authorities.

The pro-independence leader spoke at a welcome reception in Barcelona ahead of the presidential investiture debate in Parliament and then disappeared.

To find him, Catalan police had activated 'operació Gàbia', a special operation in which they close off the area in search of someone they want to arrest.

Despite hours of checkpoints on Catalan roads and borders, causing hours of traffic jams, the police failed to find him.

Police: 'We did not make a fool of ourselves'

The Catalan police chief said that "everything was prepared to arrest Puigdemont," but that they prioritized public order and the protection of the parliament for the celebration of the presidential investiture debate.

"We did not make a fool of ourselves. The Mossos were up to the task," Sallent said.

Sallent also criticized the two Mossos agents accused of helping Puigdemont escape, saying that "they do not deserve to wear the Mossos uniform."

Catalan acting interior minister Joan Ignasi Elena accused Puigdemont of trying to "sabotage" the presidential investiture debate.

“The Catalan police did not expect such inappropriate behavior from what was once the highest authority of this country,” Elena said.

The interior ministry head also criticized the "unfair and false attacks" against the Mossos and urged to "exclude them from the political debate."

Judge asks for reports from Catalan police

Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena has requested reports from the Mossos and the interior ministry on the police operation to detain Puigdemont.

The judge wants to understand the factors that led to the "failure" of the operation from a technical and police perspective.

In a request addressed to the Interior Ministry, the judge asks for details of the operation that was initially approved and arranged for the detection and arrest of Puigdemont at the border, as well as the subsequent orders issued on Thursday for his detection and arrest after his escape.

Therefore, he asks the Mossos and the Ministry of the Interior who was responsible for the design of the operation, who approved it and who was in charge of its execution or deployment.