Police in Barcelona are hunting for Catalan separatist and former leader Carles Puigdemont, who made a dramatic return to Spain after seven years in exile and a massive arrest warrant.
He has lived mostly in Brussels for the past several years, after being charged by police in connection with a failed independence bid in 2017.
President Puigdemont gave a brief speech to hundreds of supporters gathered outside the Catalan parliament in Barcelona ahead of the appointment of the new head of the Catalan government.
He said he returned “to remind people that we are still here”, adding that holding a referendum is not and never will be a crime.
After that, Mr. Fujidemon went missing.
Many expected him to appear at the Parliament Buildings in time for the swearing-in ceremony, which began at 10 a.m. (8 a.m. GMT), but he was nowhere to be seen.
Spanish media reported that an operation had been launched by the Mosos d'Esquadra Catalan police to find and arrest Mr Puigdemont. The newspaper El País reported, citing police sources, that exits to Barcelona had been blocked.
A Catalan interior ministry spokesman said in a statement that roadblocks had been put in place across the city.
There appear to be several reasons for Carles Puigdemont's return to Spain.
First, he wants to pressure the authorities to apply the new amnesty law to him after the Supreme Court ruled that it would not apply to him on technical grounds.
He is also trying today to block the election of Socialist Salvador Illa as Catalonia's new president.
Spain's former health minister has become the region's first non-nationalist leader since 2010.
For Mr Puchidemon, the most important thing is to maintain that he and his Popular Union for Catalonia (JxCat) are pro-independence forces.
He wants to accuse his separatist rival, the Catalan Republican Left (ERC), of colluding with Spanish federalism by agreeing to support Mr Illa's inauguration.
The return of the former regional president is particularly uncomfortable for the party, as the ERC will still be in charge of the Catalan police until a new regional government is in place.
