For months after Puigdemont left Spain, his precise whereabouts were unknown. One day, he popped up buying candy in Ghent; another time, he was seen in a forest near Brussels. In February 2018, Belgian newspapers reported that he had rented the house, where he planned to reside full time and establish the Consell per la Republica, or Council for the Republic — what he calls the international seat of the Catalan independence movement.

Source: Los Angeles Times March 04, 2019 11:03 UTC