Catalonia’s separatist leader is arrested in Germany
Carles Puigdemont organized a post-referendum declaration of
independence on October 27th as a way to help Catalonia separate
from the rest of Spain. Puigdemont’s separatist movement smuggled in ballot
boxes for an unconstitutional referendum. Since then, he has been on a
self-imposed exile, spending most of the time in Belgium. On March 23rd,
the supreme court of Madrid charged Puigdemont and 24 other separatist leaders
with crimes and ultimately send five to prison and ordered warrants against six
others. On March 25th, Spain’s intelligence service got revenge when
they tipped off German police that Puigdemont was crossing the border. He was
then remanded to prison and is likely he will be extradited to Spain. The
latest poll shows that only 41% of Catalans want independence now. However,
Angela Merkel, who is a strong supporter of Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano
Rajoy, will likely comply with the extradition. Ultimately, the political
settlement of the Catalan issue does not appear to be anywhere in sight.
Gabbi Gruver
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