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Spain beefs up border security as it fears Carles Puigdemont may stage surprise return

Carles Puigdemont, Catalan leader in exile - AFP
Carles Puigdemont, Catalan leader in exile - AFP

Spain's security forces are reinforcing the borders to prevent a possible surprise return by ousted pro-independence leader Carles Puigdemont ahead of next week’s crucial elections in Catalonia, it was reported on Thursday.

Mr Puigdemont is campaigning to be re-elected president from Belgium, where he fled with four cabinet members to avoid sedition and rebellion charges following Catalonia’s unilateral independence declaration in late October.

Despite facing arrest the moment he steps on to Spanish soil, Mr Puigdemont insists he will take office if he is victorious.

But he has also eyed the possibility of returning before the December 21 election - a move which could boost his poll numbers to secure a win. 

Faced with that prospect, the Interior Ministry is deploying extra security agents to points of entry, in particular the Spanish border with France, across which Mr Puigdemont made his dramatic escape.

Profile | Carles Puigdemont
Profile | Carles Puigdemont

The deployment is to be formed of multiple police agencies and will be tasked with detaining the ex-president if he crosses the frontier, police sources told the Barcelona-based paper La Vanguardia.

Mr Puigdemont's Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia) platform has risen in the polls since he vowed to return, but the vote remains on a knife-edge.

On Tuesday, he told press in Brussels that he was ready to "run the risk" of taking up office, but was more ambiguous about a pre-election return.

"I would like to, above all to exercise the right to vote, but it doesn't depend on me," he said.

He has not registered to vote from abroad, and neither have his ex-cabinet members.

There have been persistent rumours that Mr Puigdemont might attempt a surprise appearance in Girona, his home city and a pro-independence stronghold which lies less than 40 miles south of the French border. 

It was to Girona - which this week renamed its central square after the illegal October 1 independence vote - that Mr Puigdemont retreated after being removed from office as Madrid imposed direct rule.

There, he received a hero's welcome before fleeing by road to Marseilles, where he boarded a flight to Belgium.

Earlier this month, Spain's Supreme Court withdrew its European Arrest Warrants for Mr Puigdemont and his colleagues, ending the extradition process under which he was required to remain in Belgium.

The move has left him with a stark choice - return as promised and face arrest, or remain free but in endless exile.

Failing to return at least after the vote would hugely undermine his image as a persecuted hero, particularly as other pro-independence figures - notably Oriol Junqueras, the former VP and now presidential rival - are fighting the same charges from Madrid jail cells. 

The Interior Ministry did not respond to an inquiry from The Telegraph, while the National Police declined to comment.