Police in Barcelona are searching for Carles Puigdemont, the former leader of Catalonia, who made a dramatic return to Spain after a seven-year exile, despite an arrest warrant.

The Mossos d’Esquadra, Catalonia’s police force, set up roadblocks in and around Barcelona as part of Operation Jaula (“cage”), aimed at locating Puigdemont, who was last seen leaving a rally in a car.

Operation Jaula was reportedly called off a few hours later, but Puigdemont’s whereabouts remain unknown.

The 59-year-old had been living in Brussels since fleeing Spain following charges related to Catalonia’s failed independence bid in 2017.

The referendum he organised was deemed illegal by Spain’s constitutional court, and the central government imposed direct rule on Catalonia shortly thereafter.

On Thursday morning, Puigdemont addressed a crowd of supporters near the Catalan parliament in Barcelona, shouting “Long live a free Catalonia!” and declaring his return was meant “to remind you that we are still here.

” Despite expectations that he would appear inside the parliament building for the investiture of a new Catalan government leader, he was not present, and his current location remains unclear.

Late on Thursday, Puigdemont’s ally, Lluís Llach, confirmed via X (formerly Twitter) that Puigdemont was “healthy, safe, and above all, free.

” Puigdemont’s lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, also stated that Puigdemont had returned to his “place of work,” though he did not specify where.

A Catalan police officer has been detained on suspicion of assisting Puigdemont’s escape, and a second officer was also arrested.

Roadblocks were briefly set up around Barcelona, and police were seen checking vehicles near the French border.

Puigdemont’s return is seen as a move to pressure the Spanish government into applying a new amnesty law to him, which had previously excluded him.

The visit also aims to disrupt the investiture of Socialist Salvador Illa as the new Catalan president and assert Puigdemont and his Junts per Catalunya (JxCat) party as the leading pro-independence force.

Criticism has been directed at the police operation, with some accusing it of being a waste of public funds and a political manoeuvre to please Madrid.