Undercover in Girona: Three Years with Catalan Activists and a Broken Relationship

Undercover in Girona: Three Years with Catalan Activists and a Broken Relationship

"María gave me some of the best moments of my life; I fell in love with her." This is the testimony of a Catalan independence activist in Girona who shared a home, travels, and future plans with a woman who was not who she claimed to be. Her name within the circle was María Perelló Amengual. Her real name was María IT, and her profession: a National Police agent. She spent three years undercover in the independence movement in the city where Carles Puigdemont served as mayor between 2011 and 2016.

The investigation is published by La Directa. This is not a minor espionage case: there was prior training, a specific mission, and a romantic relationship that ultimately became the core of the operation.

What did the undercover agent do in Girona?

A graduate in Criminology from the Pompeu Fabra University, she trained as a police officer between 2017 and 2018 in Ávila. In early 2020, she arrived in Girona from Palma de Mallorca with orders to integrate into the city's social life. Slowly, she succeeded, until she met Òscar C., the brother of one of her first friends.

Òscar is a prominent activist: he worked for Òmnium Cultural, was investigated and arrested in a major operation, and was a leading voice in many CDR (Committees for the Defense of the Republic) assemblies. Upon starting her relationship with him, the agent's mission multiplied. She reportedly participated in meetings with lawyers to define legal strategies, protests against the arrest of Pablo Hasel, and assemblies of the Girona Feminism Coordinating Body, according to the published account.

A year of cohabitation, travel, and shared future plans

The couple lived together for more than a year in her house. There were joint trips and even plans to move to a larger apartment. "What she did has no name. It destroyed me, my sister, my parents, and my circle," Òscar says. He summarizes the experience as "torture" and adds a sentence that captures the essence of the matter: "I gave her the best of me, and she was spying on me for what I do and what I think."

The distance between the personal relationship and professional duty is the crux of almost everything. One part of the analysis views it as irreparable harm to someone who believed they were building a life together. Another reads it as an inherent risk of any intelligence operation that delves into intimacy.

The double standard: the same case with a male undercover agent

The most repeated comparison points to a known precedent: an agent who allegedly did the same by sleeping with several people to extract information, according to a forum post. The judgment changes depending on who is behind the operation. Some argue that the woman is dismissed as a traitor while the man is praised for his effectiveness. Others respond that the criticism should not be about gender, but about the method: using affection as a tool.

The agent was a university graduate, according to published data. This detail fuels speculation about who is selected for such tasks and with what psychological preparation.

Does the State justify this type of operation?

Here, the analysis splits. One current argues that monitoring radicalized groups is legitimate and recalls violent plans attributed to sectors within the independence movement, an extreme that the published information does not confirm. The opposing view responds that an operation sustained on a sentimental lie is not intelligence, it is theater, and that someone should put a price tag on what it costs.

Because money is also discussed. The question arose of how much of our taxes finances these little games and what was obtained in return. No one has published the balance sheet.

The puzzling detail

And amidst all this, a detail that reorders the story: according to La Directa, the infiltrator's mother may have participated in setting up the police operation. The story did not end with the agent.