Catalan border controls strengthened ahead of Puigdemont’s debate

The Spanish police strengthened the border controls between Catalonia and France on Friday. Several police vehicles set up a checkpoint in the old barracks at La Jonquera, on the AP-7 highway, and searched vehicles - including the trunks. In the morning, a number of the Spanish police and Guardia civil corps officers patrolled the area. 

The Spanish government has pledged to do everything in its power to stop Carles Puigdemont, currently in Belgium, from being sworn in as president in Parliament. The strengthening of border controls came only three days after Mariano Rajoy’s Home Affairs minister, Juan Ignacio Zoido, announced an operation to prevent Puigdemont from returning to Catalonia and making it to the Parliament before being arrested.

In an interview, Zoido stressed that “the border to cover is large”, as “not only are there main ways of crossing it, but also country roads.” In addition, he said that Puigdemont “could enter the country by helicopter, an ultralight aircraft, or a ship.” “We’ll try to prevent him getting into the Parliament, even inside the trunk of a car,” he added. Currently, the Spanish Supreme Court has an arrest warrant in effect against Puigdemont on Spanish soil, while it withdrew an equivalent warrant at an EU level.