Manhunt launched after separatist leader gives speech before disappearing.

Catalan police have locked down Barcelona in a bid to capture separatist leader Carles Puigdemont, who on Thursday briefly reappeared to address supporters in the city before vanishing.

During Operatiu Gabia, which translates to Operation Cage, police initially set up checkpoints at exits from Barcelona as they look for a vehicle in which the former Catalan president, who has been wanted by Spanish authorities since 2017, is said to be travelling. It has now extended the operation to all parts of Catalonia, with checkpoints on all highways, including the main highways that connect Catalonia and France.

“Hundreds of policemen to catch a political leader is not the typical action of a democracy but a regime in search of its public enemy number one,” a member of Puigdemont’s inner circle told POLITICO.

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