After spending seven years away, Carles Puigdemont, a prominent figure in the Catalan independence movement, has made his way back to Spain.

BARCELONA, SPAIN – AUGUST 08: Carles Puigdemont, the former President of Catalonia, made a public appearance in Barcelona on August 8, 2024, marking his first return to Spain since fleeing in 2017. Puigdemont, who led the unsuccessful 2017 bid for Catalan independence, is wanted by Spanish authorities. Despite an immediate arrest order, he managed to address a crowd outside the Catalan parliament before disappearing. (Photo by Adria Puig/Anadolu via Getty Images)Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images

After seven years in self-imposed exile, Carles Puigdemont, the ex-leader of Catalonia’s separatist movement, returned to Spain, defying an active arrest warrant and sparking a police search. Images and videos captured Puigdemont, who left Spain following a failed independence referendum in 2017, speaking to supporters in Barcelona. “They thought they would celebrate my arrest… But they are wrong,” he declared, according to a CNBC translation, raising his fist. “Holding a referendum was not, is not, and will never be a crime.” He vanished into the crowd post-speech, despite a significant police presence.

Barcelona authorities quickly initiated “Operation Cage,” setting up roadblocks in and around the city to find Puigdemont’s vehicle. In a series of posts translated by CNBC on the X social media platform, Puigdemont appeared to mock the police efforts, questioning, “Am I inside the walls of Parliament?” and ridiculing media reports on the operation’s progress, calling it “absolutely ridiculous.” CNBC has reached out to Spain’s Interior Ministry for confirmation on Puigdemont’s status. A spokesperson from the Catalan Interior Ministry told Reuters that Puigdemont remains at large.

Puigdemont, a prominent figure in the Catalan independence movement, faces embezzlement charges, which he denies. His dramatic return overshadowed the debate for the investiture of Salvador Illa, Spain’s former health minister and socialist candidate, as Catalonia’s new president. Illa’s party won the most votes in the May Catalan elections, unseating Puigdemont’s Junts per Catalunya party. Despite the ongoing search, the parliamentary session proceeded on Thursday.

Without naming Illa directly, Puigdemont seemed to mock him in a CNBC-translated social media post, saying, “Imagine… the day they make you president, a pirate running in a car steals all your limelight.” His reappearance also provoked outrage in other parts of Spain’s political landscape. Ignacio Garriga, Secretary-General of the far-right Vox party, criticized the situation as “a real embarrassment and an international shame promoted and allowed by the Government of the nation,” according to a CNBC translation. “We must find those responsible.”

Puigdemont’s return presents both an opportunity and a challenge for Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist administration, which relies on Junts party votes for a parliamentary majority and aims to improve relations with Catalonia. Sanchez resumed office late last year after conservative rival Alberto Nunez Feijoo failed twice to secure parliamentary support to form a government. Puigdemont’s backing is expected to come at a high cost. A controversial amnesty bill, passed narrowly in late May, could pardon those involved in the Catalan independence movement, but a Supreme Court ruling excluded Puigdemont from amnesty. A public prosecutor has since appealed the decision, according to local reports.