Saturday morning. Chile prepares to celebrate a new anniversary of its police (Carabineros). It is the 97th edition. The celebrations, however, were not as the institution and the citizens expected. A group of firefighters found three charred bodies inside a patrol car in the town of Cañete, about 635 kilometers south of Santiago, the capital. Shortly before, those three bodies, which correspond to police officers, had been brutally murdered by a radical group in the area.
“In my 38 years of service I have no record of the death of a Carabinero, and not just one, but three cruel murders, on the day of our anniversary,” said its general director, Ricardo Yáñez. The area in which the crime was perpetrated has been under military guard for several months as a result of violence and disputes between the Chilean State and ethnic groups. The three police officers killed join others who have suffered death while carrying out their duties.
The news shocked a country that, although it is becoming more and more accustomed to crime and barbarism, is not accustomed to this bellicosity. The police officers were discovered burned inside a patrol car while they were touring the area. Until now no one knows who is guiltybut there are several political actors who have come out to propose solutions to the media. Chile, for the moment, is in national mourning.
Hundreds of Chilean citizens say goodbye to the three murdered police officers.
Efe
Days before the sad event, Rodrigo Mundaca, governor of the Valparaíso Region, said: “When a criminal enters a family home, rapes the mother, the children and kills the father of the family, he appropriates the property. materials and commits all these atrocities, I believe that (the death penalty) is a discussion that must be had. In his words, there are crimes for which there is no forgiveness and death would be the only possible way out and the way to redeem the victim.
For some days, Mundaca remained alone in his position. However, after the crime in Cañete, there were several who supported him. “I hope that the Government sends a bill to parliament and that it is accepted by parliamentarians. One that, for example, reinstates the death penalty for those who murder police officers,” warned Rodrigo Díaz, governor of the BíoBío region. where the murders were carried out.
The idea of reinstating the death penalty, which for many is unacceptable from the point of view of human rights, was also echoed in the National Congress. In his account of
In the midst of the rise of violence, citizen support for the Carabineros is skyrocketing. According to Cadem, one of the best-known opinion polls in the South American country, the institution reached its historical maximum, with 84% of people’s support, that is, eight percentage points more than in the study carried out in March.
[Tragedia en Chile: hallan calcinados a 3 Carabineros en el 97 aniversario de la institución policial]
With this increase in popularity, the Chilean police are positioned as the third best evaluated institution. On the other hand, Congress (20%) and political parties (13%) close the survey. Regarding the attack itself, 73% of those consulted claim that the cause was terrorism or organized crime, versus 16% who attribute it to some Mapuche organization seeking to claim land.
Ecuador and the ‘hard hand’
It is not only Chilean citizens who demand more security. Ecuador does it too. In a referendum held a week ago, millions of people took to the streets to vote on a series of questions. The election took place in the midst of an unprecedented crisis of instability, led by the advance of drug trafficking and the assault on the Mexican embassy ordered by its president, Daniel Noboa.
A soldier in Ecuador carries out surveillance tasks in a prison.
Reuters
The conclusion of the elections was evident: Ecuadorians want a ‘tough hand’, much more than what is being applied today. In some questions, the Government exceeded the 70% threshold for the Armed Forces, the most highly rated institution, to continue supporting the National Police in the fight against organized crime.
The victory also materialized in that the State will have more tools to fight crime, the increase in penalties for crimes linked to the sale of drugs or extreme violence, in addition to the carrying of police and military weapons for immediate confiscation and use. Noboa’s victory, with citizen participation around 75%, ranged between 60.07% and 72.74%.
[Referéndum en Ecuador contra las bandas: Noboa logra el apoyo popular en 9 de las 11 preguntas]
Also arousing support was ‘extradition’, a tool that was rejected by Noboa’s predecessor, Guillermo Lasso. It is a victory for the Government, which a few days before the elections had announced the arrest of Fabricio Colón, ‘Captain Pico’, one of the leaders of the Los Lobos gang, who escaped from prison and encouraged an armed conflict on the day in which criminals attacked the television channel TV Guayaquil.
Amnesty and state of siege
While the ‘death penalty’ is gaining ground, other measures have been taking center stage in Chile. Above all, after the brutal attack in Cañete, in the south of the country. One of them is the Rules for the Use of Force (RUF) and another Intelligence Law, which has been waiting for years for advances to facilitate its approval. New mechanisms to protect the police are also being discussed.
The president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, makes statements to the media.
Efe
Another measure that has aroused controversy is the ‘Site status’, which refers to the prohibition of a large part of the freedoms of citizens with the purpose of safeguarding security. José Antonio Kast, former candidate for the presidency of Chile, published on his X account: “The time has come to end goodism and strongly attack terrorism. State of siege, closure and strengthening of borders and dismissal of the urgent security cabinet “.
The State of Siege is an exceptional tool reserved only for cases of internal war or serious internal commotion. It is the President of the Republic, Gabriel Boric, with prior permission from Congress, the only one who can decree it. Regarding the RUF, it corresponds to a set of rules that regulate the action of the Armed Forces in situations where they must use force. The project, although it is of ‘utmost urgency’, has been sleeping on the laurels of Congress since April 2023.
Lastly, there is the amnestya project that was entered into parliament and that seeks to nullify the formalizations to Carabineros during the social outbreak of October 2019, where extreme violence on one side and abuse of force on the other are reported. “The amnesty project that we entered this week must be supported and dispatched,” Javier Macaya, president of the right-wing party, the Independent Democratic Union (UDI), said on his X account. The Government, however, has ruled out advancing a policy of these characteristics.
