“Some lay flowers on our squad cars, others crap on them”: Trapero in ten sentences

BarcelonaThe Commissioner of Police of Catalonia’s Mossos d’Esquadra, Josep Lluís Trapero, praised the work of the force following the terrorist attacks in Barcelona city and Cambrils. In an interview with Catalunya Ràdio, Trapero stressed the need to remain discrete about the probe led by judge Fernando Andreu, from Madrid’s Audiencia Nacional, in which several law enforcement agencies are involved.

Trapero, who has become the Mossos’ recognisable face in the wake of the terrorist attacks, announced that the Catalan police will “steer” its actions towards preventing “less obvious” radicalisation of potential terrorists. Below are some of the highlights of the radio interview.

1. “We knew very little about the Ripoll imam, Abdelbaki es Satty, practically nothing. We knew his first name”.
2. “I doubt if the attacks could have been prevented, even if they had warned us in 2005 that a Madrid court had ordered a wire tap on the imam”.
3. “The probe into the attacks is beginning to show international links. We will need to travel abroad, to certain countries”.
4. “It’s true that the Amposta judge asked us if you could build a bomb with a gas canister. But if she had thought that the Alcanar blast had a terrorist connection, she would have started an enquiry”.
5. “International police intelligence goes through a small office managed by the Spanish police and the Mossos are on the losing side when it comes to sharing it, because the information does not flow in our direction”. “Not even Spain’s law enforcement agencies see us as having the authority to engage in international affairs, let alone establish connections with the intelligence community. The CIA did not warn us, that is a lie”.
6. “Three or four newspapers insist on the idea that the attacks could have been averted. Some lay flowers on our squad cars, others crap on them”.
7. “There is something slightly sick about laying the blame on us. Are we expected to anticipate something that the terrorists’ own parents, families, religious congregation, friends and neighbours totally missed?”
8. “Yes, we were deceived. Some radicalisation processes are less obvious and we will have to work to tackle the issue. We will correct the course”.
9. “Nobody can confirm that the Sagrada Família was a target. They wanted to carry out an attack like that, but we have no confirmation that it was the selected spot”.
10. “I’m rather self-conscious. I understand that the whole thing about the T-shirts with my face on them is out of affection, but I’m looking forward to getting my privacy back, which really worked for me”.