(From Santiago, Chile) During the course of this Thursday the formalization of the former seminarian Luis García-Huidobroarrested for his alleged participation in a arson attack committed in October 2021 in the commune of Carahue, Region of The Araucanía (735 km south of Santiago).
According to the regional prosecutor Roberto Garridothe attack occurred in I founded Casablanca, located in the “Las Araucarias” sector, when near 30 hooded heavily armed men broke in violently, setting fire to ten cabins intended for the use of workers and their families, five trucksa warehouse and three private vehicles.
The attack – which affected a Forestal Casablanca property – was claimed by the group Weichan Auca Mapu (WAM)with three canvases in which they demanded the freedom of different members of their group who remain deprived of liberty.
García-Huidobro’s arrest occurred this Wednesday on Route P-90, “Las Huellas” sector of Tirúa, by virtue of a court order, in an investigation carried out by the High Complexity Prosecutor’s Office of La Araucanía and the Special Police Investigations Brigade of the PDI, according to a note of Cooperative.
He former Jesuit religious it’s a staunch defender of the Mapuche cause and has a previous conviction for receiving and illegally carrying a firearm in 2014, crimes for which he accused a “setup” by both police and government authorities against him.
This day BíoBío revealed a video which records the arrest of the former priest, where it is possible to see how he is intercepted on board a car by civil police officials.
“Get off, get off!” The troops shout at the former Jesuit, then asking him his name: “Luis Alberto García-Huidobro?”, to which he responds affirmatively.
After this, they explain that “there is an arrest warrant against you for crimes under Law 18,314 – related to terrorist behavior – emanating from the Guarantee Court of Carahue as a defendant, we have to take you to the court of this act. “You are detained.”
The authorities detailed that the arrest of the former priest took place when he was alone in public and then the entry order and search of his home, a procedure carried out by detectives from the Macro Sur Prefecture of the PDI, in collaboration with the Navy.
Juan Carlos Bustoshead of the Macro South Prefecture of the PDI, added that in the procedure the accused’s cell phone, computers and a weapon, which must be verified if it is real or not.
For his part, regional prosecutor Roberto Garrido reported that the background information collected on the research allow to impute the detainee his criminal responsibility for the crimes of arson and robbery with intimidation.
Along these lines, he assured that everything suggests that he directly participated in the Carahue arson attack.
For his part, the delegate of La Araucanía, Jose Montalvahighlighted the result of the investigation carried out by the Prosecutor’s Office and the PDI, especially because it is related to the organic Weichan Auka Mapu (WAM), which has been the one that has been claimed responsibility for the latest attacks in the region and to which Luis García-Huidobro would belong.
Finally, it was reported that the accused will remain detained in the facilities located on Avenida Prat and Caupolicán in Temuco (680 km south of Santiago), waiting for the detention control hearing and formalization of charges that will take place this day in the Guarantee Court of Carahue.
