Trapero resigns as director of the Police and Ferran López will replace him

BarcelonaEarthquake in the Mossos. The Director General of the Police, Josep Lluís Trapero, resigns from his post. Trapero's decision has come on a key day for the Mossos d'Esquadra, as a meeting of the police leadership has been called for this Wednesday morning at the Department of the Interior. The objective was to announce who would be the new chief commissioner of the force, but Trapero's resignation, presented this morning, has generated surprise among the high commands of the Mossos and the Interior. Within the Government, the decision began to be known this Tuesday, according to sources consulted by the ARA.

And it is also already known who will replace Trapero as the highest political official of the Police: it will also be a high command of the force, Commissioner Ferran López, who was head of the force during the application of Article 155; now Parlon trusts him for this position. At this moment, López was the representative of the Mossos in Madrid. The new chief commissioner of the force will be Sílvia Catà, until now head of the Mossos in Girona, and who will be the first woman to hold this position. At 9:45 a.m., the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, and Minister Parlon will hold a meeting with López and Catà at the Palau de la Generalitat. A press conference is scheduled at 10:30 a.m.

Acid test

Trapero was appointed director of the Police in the summer of 2024 and was now completing two years in the position. In fact, his name was one of the key announcements by Salvador Illa during the election campaign. The meeting at the Interior department this Wednesday was scheduled to begin at nine and this Tuesday evening everyone took it for granted that it would be to announce the new chief commissioner, since the current head of the force, Miquel Esquius, is retiring. After Trapero's resignation, however, the restructuring will be even deeper. In fact, the choice of the new head of the force was a litmus test of the relationship between Parlon and Trapero.

"She is a good professional and a good person", "She will do well", commented high-ranking Mossos officers about the choice of Catà before the decision was made official, as she was one of the favorites for the position. Several sources consulted by this newspaper point out that Minister Parlon has always defended the need to place a woman as head of the force, and these intentions have become a reality with this Wednesday's decision. Over the months, various names had been appearing in the running, but Sílvia Catà's has always been one of those that has sounded the strongest. Commissioner Montserrat Estruch, head of the Mossos in Barcelona, was also well-positioned.

The two profiles

Born in Arenys de Munt on May 14, 1973, Catà holds a degree in Business Administration and Management from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and has been a member of the Mossos d’Esquadra police force since 1998. Between 2018 and 2019, she was the head of the Mossos in Mollet del Vallès. Subsequently, she was regional coordinator of Citizen Security for the Barcelona Police Region and, between 2022 and 2023, deputy head of the Barcelona Police Region. Since July 1, 2023, she has been the head of the Girona Police Region.

In turn, Ferran López was born in Madrid on November 16, 1966, joined the Mossos d’Esquadra in 1989, and has accumulated more than three decades of experience within the force. His training includes the Executive Master in Public Administration from Esade (2017-2019), the higher course in direction and coordination of public security from the Universidad Ortega y Gasset (2010-2011), and the higher program in direction and management of public security from the Escola d’Administració Pública de Catalunya (2007), as well as the national defense course from CESEDEN, which he completed in 2025. His training is completed with a degree in educational sciences from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (1994-1998).

López served as chief commissioner of the Mossos d’Esquadra between 2017 and 2018 and subsequently was head of the force's headquarters between 2018 and 2020. Between 2021 and 2022 he was director of operations and security at FC Barcelona. Finally, however, the minister Joan Ignasi Elena brought him back as head of the Mossos in Madrid.

The changes

With his appointment, the Mossos have accumulated several changes at the head of the force in a few years. Since 2013, when Major Trapero held the highest position in the force, although the 155 [article] caused his dismissal. Then it was Ferran López's turn, who with the formation of the new Government gave way to Miquel Esquius's first term. In 2019, Minister Miquel Buch decided to place Eduard Sallent as head of the force, although with Trapero's acquittal at the National Court, the major returned to be head of the force at the hands of Minister Miquel Sàmper.

In 2021, however, Esquerra Republicana took over the Ministry of Interior and placed Josep Maria Estela as chief commissioner, who ended up being dismissed due to the turbulent relationship with Minister Joan Ignasi Elena, who returned to trust in Eduard Sallent. With the arrival of the PSC, it was Miquel Esquius's turn. The choice of Catà is the first in a decade that is not motivated by a strictly political decision, since the chief commissioner he succeeds is leaving because he is retiring.