OVIEDO, Spain

The fugitive former leader of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont is no longer in Spain, those close to him said on Friday, after his dramatic appearance — and disappearance — in Barcelona on Thursday. 

Jordi Turull, secretary general of his political party Junts per Catalunya, told broadcaster RAC1 that he returned to Belgium, where he has been in self-imposed exile since 2017.

Gonzalo Boye, his lawyer, also told RAC1 that he has left Spain, and never had the intention of getting arrested.

The comments came the day after Puigdemont gave a planned, televised speech in front of around 3,000 supporters.

Despite an active arrest warrant against him, he managed to flee the scene and avoid detention.

On Friday, the Catalan police force, which was responsible for the operation to arrest him, held a press conference to explain what happened.

Eduard Sallent, head of the Catalan Police, explained that the plan was to detain Puigdemont in “the most suitable place” possible, but a crowd prevented the authorities from nabbing him after he gave his five-minute speech.

Admitting failure, he said police lost track of the former president soon after he put on a hat and jumped into a car.

Two Catalan police officers have been detained for collaborating in his escape, and Sallent did not rule out that more were involved.

At the same press conference, the Catalan Interior Minister Joan Ignasi Elena said the police were caught off guard by Puigdemont’s vanishing act.

“Neither the Catalan police nor anyone else was prepared for such improper behavior,” he added, questioning what the spectacle contributed to the separatist movement.

Misguided by members of his party, both the media and police were waiting for Puigdemont to try to enter the Catalan parliament building to disrupt the government formation ceremony.

Despite what those around him say, police have not given up their search for Puigdemont in Spain.

The Spanish Supreme Court has sent official letters to the Catalan Police and Spanish Interior Ministry demanding explanations over how Puigdemont managed to reach Barcelona and leave the country without being caught.

Turull told RAC1 that the fugitive leader had been in Barcelona since Tuesday.

Despite an amnesty bill that was set to clear the way for Puigdemont’s return, Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that the embezzlement charge against him cannot be dropped.

Puigdemont was president of Catalonia in 2017, when his government arranged an illegal independence referendum and a subsequent independence declaration, which was quashed by Madrid.