SANTIAGO, Chile – Authorities reported on Saturday that they found three militarized police officers (carabineros) dead in a patrol car set on fire in an area of southern Chile, a fact that was condemned by citizens in the midst of a security crisis in the South American country. .
“An extremely serious attack has occurred,” said the Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá, after confirming the discovery of the charred bodies of two corporals and a sergeant early Saturday morning in the Cañete area, in the Biobío region, more than 250 miles south of the capital, Santiago. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the incident.
In the Araucanía and Biobío region, a state of emergency has been in effect since May 2022, allowing the presence of the military to counteract crimes and violent acts that have become frequent in the area and usually target forestry companies, churches and other institutions. .
A group of people participated on Saturday in a demonstration demanding justice for the dead police officers in front of the La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, the country’s capital.
“With pain, we regret to inform the community and our family about the horrible murder of three of our” members, Carabineros reported through the social network X. He said that the three were carrying out preventive patrol tasks in Cañete. In the last month, another militarized police officer died in another violent incident.
“On this significant date, once again we sadly mourn those who give their lives for others,” the institution stated. On Saturday Carabinero Day is celebrated in the country.
President Gabriel Boric decreed three days of mourning for the death of the police officers, and in a message he warned that “there will be no impunity” and that the culprits will be pursued “by sky, sea and land” until they are found and brought to justice.
“With deep pain” we offer our condolences to the families of the police officers “who were brutally murdered, in an act that deserves all the condemnation and repudiation not only of the State of Chile but of Chilean society,” said Boric, accompanied by the president. of the Supreme Court, the representatives of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, as well as the directors of the investigative police and representatives of the Ministry of Defense.
In statements to the Biobío radio station, the general director of the carabineros, Ricardo Yáñez, already displaced to the region where the events occurred, indicated that the first investigations indicated that the attack on the patrol had been planned. In addition, he urged the rest of the troops to continue working “with their heads held high.”
“This attack goes against all the enormous efforts that have been made” in this area “to end the violence, to find paths of peace to resolve the problems,” said Minister Tohá, adding that this attack “is not going to make us take a step back in this effort.”
Violence in the Araucanía and Biobío region, about 400 miles south of the Chilean capital, has been going on for years. About 20% of the population of this region are indigenous people of the Mapuche ethnic group, the vast majority of whom peacefully demand the restitution of ancestral lands, although there are also small armed groups that claim arson and armed attacks for the same purpose.
