Shops in the center of cities such as Madrid, Valencia, Bilbao and Barcelona woke up this Saturday with their windows boarded up in the middle of the All Saints and Halloween bridge for fear of looting following calls for vandalization linked to the 'Blocus' platform spread on social networks.
The merchants do not trust and have thus chosen to preventively protect their businesses due to the fear that the looting of last Saturday the 24th in Barcelona could be repeated, which resulted in 133 detainees and more than 600 identified. A fear of incidents in the face of which security reinforcements are planned, both from the State Security Forces and Corps and from regional police, for what could happen.
The Catalan capital is where it is expected that the images from last weekend with looted shops, street furniture and destroyed vehicles will most likely be repeated.
Thus, after the incidents last Saturday with burning of containers and street furniture and looting of a large number of businesses, establishments in the areas of Plaza Catalunya, Passeig de Gràcia and Avenida Diagonal have protected their shop windows with wooden planks and metal barriers as a preventive measure.
In this case, the Mossos d'Esquadra plan to activate a level 4 device, the maximum in the event of mobilizations on public roads, to prevent these images from being repeated. As police sources explained this Friday, the maximum alert has only been activated once, in February 2021 due to the wave of protests against the arrest of rapper Pablo Hasél, although this Saturday's device will be coordinated with the Urban Guard and contemplates "largely" expanding the number of troops that made up last Saturday's operation (about 300).
Preparation in Madrid and Valencia
In Madrid, establishments located in the heart of the capital, on streets such as Gran Vía or Montera, or on what is known as the Golden Mile, have opted for security measures such as boarding up their shop windows. In this case, the City Council will shield the city with 1,700 agents during these dates.
In addition, municipal police officers in the capital will be prepared for regular service in case it is necessary to increase any service, and all of this in coordination with the National Police in response to calls for possible acts of vandalism that may occur.
In Valencia, businesses in the center have installed protective panels in their windows and are studying whether they will open their doors or advance their closing hours to 4 p.m., as explained by both workers from some establishments and the Association of Merchants of the Historic Center. This association has advised businesses to check the blinds, closures and cameras of the premises, remove expensive products from the windows and clear the sidewalks.
The mayor of Valencia, María José Catalá, and the Government delegate, Roger Llanes, have announced that the special security device against possible disturbances this Saturday in the city will be "forceful", "adequate" and "flexible" and will be made up of a "very high" number of members of the National Police, Local Police, Civil Guard, agents of the Attached Unit and private security.
An image that will also be replicated in other cities such as Bilbao, Zaragoza, Palma, Seville or Granada, where 'Blocus' has spread posters on social networks calling for these acts of vandalism.
Arrests
Everything happens after this Friday the security forces and bodies carried out several operations that left a dozen detainees in Valencia, Bilbao, Malaga and Tenerife. The detainees are accused of instigating multiple lootings, calling on young people to support the protest using weapons and also to make Molotov cocktails, all with the aim of "overwhelming" the police who confront the sabotage.
Among them is the considered leader of 'Blocus' in Spain, who has been arrested in Picanya (Valencia). The Information Headquarters of the Civil Guard accuses this 20-year-old young man of being the "founder and main promoter" of the violent movement.
The investigation began following a video spread online in which a hooded man called on other young people to support the sabotage, in imitation of what had previously happened in France, since, he said, with the "peaceful protests they were not paid any attention."
"We have no possibility of getting decent housing, we don't even have good healthcare, the schools are increasingly screwed up. And they laugh in our faces and then do what they want with our money," said this hooded man, who stressed that the movement did not sympathize with any political party. The Civil Guard has indicated that the person arrested in Picanya had the objective of "directing the looting in real time" in businesses in several cities that he considered accessible during this Saturday, when many young people plan to celebrate Halloween.
In addition to its Telegram channel, 'Blocus' attracts followers with TikTok videos and posters, made with artificial intelligence and QR codes, from where interested parties are referred to WhatsApp and Telegram groups and, later, to private channels.
In another operation, the Civil Guard has also arrested two young people in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, one of them a minor under 16 years of age, accused of using encrypted communication tools to evade tracking and spreading instructions to commit acts of vandalism and sabotage, including slogans to "overwhelm the Security Forces and Corps."
Creator of communication channels
In parallel, the National Police has carried out different operations with a balance of four detainees between Thursday and this Friday, October 30, two of them in Valencia. The first is accused of being the creator of the 'Blocus Vlc' communication channels, now closed, in which he instigated the looting of businesses in Valencia city, with one of them exceeding 400 users.
The second detainee in Valencia was arrested after instigating the making and throwing of Molotov cocktails during the protests. "He encouraged the use of incendiary bombs to create chaos and distract the Security Forces and Corps, and thus be able to loot the businesses," the Police said.
The National Police also arrested in Bilbao the administrator of a 'Blocus' account from which people were calling to provoke incidents during Halloween in the city center, pointing out businesses and sharing instructions for making explosive devices and Molotov cocktails. The same thing happened with another 20-year-old young man in Malaga, arrested for giving instructions to his followers inciting the use of weapons. In his case, he marked businesses in Malaga capital and Fuengirola and Marbella as targets.
Serious riots in Barcelona
The first arrests of young people related to 'Blocus' were carried out by the Mossos d'Esquadra as a result of the serious disturbances on Saturday in the center of Barcelona: 'in situ' they arrested 128 people, 72 of them minors, which raised alarm due to the ability to attract young people. The Prosecutor's Office has requested 8 internments and 70 supervised releases for detained minors.
In addition, the Catalan police have made several other arrests: a 17-year-old minor in Barcelona accused of promoting and coordinating the riots; another 16-year-old minor arrested in Bellmunt d'Urgell (Lleida) and another 18-year-old located in Barcelona for publicizing the protests.
