The Mossos d'Esquadra foresee a "high risk" 11-N in Barcelona but without threat from Blocus

The Mossos d'Esquadra have prepared "a maximum alert device" for Wednesday's general strike in anticipation of a high "combatative" threat. The Catalan Police, which will deploy some 9,000 troops throughout Catalonia, divided into four shifts from Tuesday night until 9/11, has classified the day with a risk level of four out of four.

However, sources from the autonomous body point out that, right now, there is no threat that bears the seal of Blocus, the umbrella of calls through social networks and technological platforms that led to the serious altercations and looting of businesses in the center of Barcelona on October 24.

The operation that the Mossos will launch will have no similarity to that of October 31, the second Saturday with calls from Blocus to take to the streets, in which the presence of a large number of agents, especially in the Catalan capital and its metropolitan area, prevented the images of the previous week from being repeated. The balance of this device ended with 10 detainees, 2,264 identifications and 181 complaints for confiscation of "bladed weapons" or harmful objects, such as "rocks or spray."

The Catalan Police commanders consider that the trickle of arrests in the last two weeks has deactivated the Blocus threat and, therefore, the police strategy of 9/11 will be similar to that of other general strikes or protests with a large number of protesters. The Mossos are working with the forecast that the call on Wednesday afternoon in the center of Barcelona could bring together between 50,000 and 100,000 attendees, which multiplies the possibilities of incidents occurring, especially at the last minute. The number of agents who will operate during the central hours of Wednesday will be approximately double that of an ordinary day.

Just last week, the Police Force published the review of the OC spray protocol, known as pepper gas, in the public order interventions of the ARRO and Brimo units.