Spain Interior Ministry pulls police reinforcements back from Catalonia

Spain’s Interior Ministry is withdrawing thousands of police reinforcements who were deployed to its northeastern region of Catalonia in the run-up to an attempted referendum on independence in October, AP reported. Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said late Tuesday the estimated 5,000 reinforcements are no longer necessary. The move followed “a return to normalcy” after Madrid seized control of the restive region following a declaration of independence by the Catalan parliament weeks after the referendum. Police had used force to try to prevent the referendum from taking place, and hundreds of people, including police, were reported injured.