Operation Catalonia

Operation Catalonia (Operació Catalunya in Catalan) is the name of a covert police operation allegedly driven by the government of Spain which aimed to curb the Catalan independence process. The operation consisted of research and information gathering about Catalan independence politicians without judicial authorization. The operation allegedly included the creation or use of false evidence, data manipulation, irregular reports, secret agents, leaks to the press and the use of threats to obtain confidential information.

The operation allegedly started after the 2012 Catalan independence demonstration. The heads of the National Police started an extrajudicial operation that was kept secret even within the corps.

The operation consisted of investigating and compiling information from politicians that were favorable to the independence of Catalonia without any judicial authorization. To do this, two methods were allegedly used: a special and secret unit of the National Police Corps, depending on the Ministry of the Interior (Spain), and also through the Spanish embassy in Andorra, dependent on the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.