Barcelona (October 29, 2017): The Spanish government has taken its first step to impose direct rule on Catalonia, firing its police chief and nominating the deputy prime minister to take control of the region in an unprecedented effort to quash its attempts at secession.
A day after the Catalan parliament defied Madrid and voted for a unilateral declaration of independence, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy issued a decree that confirmed the sacking of Josep Lluis Trapero, head of the regional police force.
Trapero already faced charges of sedition over his force’s actions in the run-up to Catalonia’s banned October 1 independence referendum. The director general of the Catalan police, Pere Soler, was also dismissed.
On Friday Rajoy dismissed Catalonia’s president and cabinet, dissolved its parliament and called new elections for December 21 as part of a drastic package of measures to seize control of the renegade administration in Barcelona.
Rajoy appointed his Deputy Prime Minister, Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, to take charge of Catalonia’s government.
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