This Saturday morning an attack by an armed group in the town of Cañete, in The Araucanía Chilean, ended the life of three carabinieri who were providing their services. The incident was soon condemned by the government of Gabriel Boric, who promised to investigate the case until those responsible were found and justice was served.
Although many details of the investigation by prosecutor Danilo Ramos have not yet emerged, information has been known that allows us to further clarify the circumstances of the episode. As determined in the Chilean press reports, shortly before 1 am on Saturday, the officer corps received three calls at 133 (the Carabineros emergency telephone code) by strangers who were asking for help after having been victims of an alleged assault. Immediately, the three police officers set off towards the area in question.
The officers moved in a armored patrol given that all security force vehicles deployed in the region must be prepared to face possible attacks. The ambush occurred on route P-72, one of the areas that has been the victim of attacks the most. In fact, the 90 kilometers that this road covers have been described as the “most dangerous in Arauco.”
Upon arriving at the site of the alleged emergency, the carabinieri They were surprised by a burst of gunfire. with shotguns and possibly with rifles, based on 45 caliber ammunition that was found at the scene. The investigation even indicates that one of the shots went through the engine of the armored truck.
Investigators estimate that, following the shooting, the uniformed officers got out of the vehicle to try to repel the ambush but they did not survive the shots and their bodies fell lifeless on the road.
Next, the attackers would have loaded the bodies to place them in the bed of the truck and then set the vehicle on fire with a flammable liquid. According to the police report, it is believed that in that instance “all of the personnel’s weapons and ammunition” were stolen since “only ballistic helmets and bulletproof vests” were found inside the patrol.
Regarding the body video cameras carried by the officers, “it is unknown if they were consumed by the action of the fire or previously stolen.”
Local firefighters found the police patrol car on fire, with the charred bodies, and notified the authorities.
President Gabriel Boric He was categorical in his repudiation of this episode of violence and assured that all available resources will be used in this case.
“Attacking against Carabineros is attacking the entire country. I assure the Chileans that there will be no impunity and that we will find the whereabouts of the authors of this terrible crime,” said the president, and described the authors of this triple murder as “terrorists”.
Meanwhile, the governor of the BíoBio region asked the Executive to promote a law that endorses the death penalty in cases of this nature.
“I hope that the Government sends a bill to Parliament and that it is accepted by parliamentarians, for example, to replenish the death penalty to those who murder police officers, police officers or any other police officer,” said Rodrigo Díaz and also proposed that “the Public Criminal Defender’s Office never defends people who murder police officers.”
