Spain on Saturday began to assert control over Catalonia, sacking the region’s president, ministers, diplomats and police chiefs and transferring all authority to the central government in Madrid. But it was an open question as to who was really in charge of the breakaway “Republic of Catalonia” in the hours after a divided Catalan Parliament declared independence. The chief of the Catalan regional police, Josep Lluís Trapero, who is being investigated by Spanish prosecutors for defying legal orders, was among the officially dismissed. Joaquim Bayo, 87, a retired salesman, said he had already heard nervous jokes about when Spain will send tanks into the Barcelona streets. Just hours after Catalonia declared independence on Oct. 27, Spain’s prime minister announced that he would dismantle the region's government.

Source: Washington Post October 28, 2017 15:24 UTC