Carles Puigdemont, a former Catalan leader in exile, has returned to Belgium

Barcelona, Spain: After giving a brief speech to supporters in Barcelona on Friday, fugitive Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont announced he had fled Spain for Belgium, igniting controversy over his repeated attempts to avoid arrest.
He wrote in Catalan on X, formerly Twitter, "Today I am in Waterloo after an extremely difficult few days," alluding to the town in Belgium where he has lived for the most of the previous seven years.

Puigdemont, who led Catalonia's unsuccessful 2017 attempt for independence, escaped to another country and returned to Spain on Thursday despite an arrest order.
Before disappearing, he spoke to a large crowd at the Catalan regional parliament in Barcelona.

In anticipation of a vote to select a new leader for the affluent northeastern region, the 61-year-old was predicted to attempt to enter the parliament building. Rather, he vanished amidst the multitude.

Earlier on Friday, Puigdemont's hardline separatist JxCAT party secretary general, Josep Turull, and his lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, both said on Catalan radio that he was returning to Belgium.

On Friday, however, Puigdemont's possible presence in Barcelona was not ruled out, according to Eduard Sallent, the commander of the Mossos d'Esquadra, the regional police force for Catalonia.

Following his appearance on Thursday, Puigdemont eluded the regional police of Catalonia, who insisted in a statement that there had been no coordination with him. As a result, they began a manhunt for him.

According to the force, they intended to apprehend him "at the most opportune time so as not to generate public disorder."

On Thursday, two officers were taken into custody; one of them was the owner of the vehicle he had driven away from the scene. After being freed a few hours later, they are still charged with Puigdemont's assistance.

A third officer has now been taken into custody in relation to the incident, the force said AFP on Friday.

Judge Pablo Llarena of the Supreme Court, who issued Puigdemont's arrest warrant, wanted the names of the police who gave their approval to the arrest operation on Friday.
According to a court filing, he also requested the names of people "entrusted with its execution or operational deployment".

Sallent stated that although Puigdemont did not go where was anticipated, his unit was prepared to apprehend him close to the regional parliament.

He added that Puigdemont was "surrounded by a crowd of people and authorities" with the "aim of obstructing the action of the police," and that "the events unfolded very quickly."

In 2017, Puigdemont oversaw the regional government that held an independence vote in defiance of a court order.

Spain experienced its worst political crisis since returning to democracy in 1975, when tyrant Francisco Franco passed away, as a result of a brief proclamation of independence.
Shortly after the unsuccessful attempt at independence, Puigdemont left Spain to avoid prosecution. Since then, he has resided in Belgium and, most recently, France.