It was Wednesday, April 24, when the regional prosecutor Roberto Garrido Bedwell left the Oral Court of Temuco after having achieved a historic conviction verdict against Héctor Llaitul Carrillancafounder and main leader of one of the radicalized organizations in the area: the Arauco Malleco Coordinator (CAM).
That day, along with evaluating the court’s decision, Garrido made a warning that many remembered this week. And based on his experience, the researcher explained that although the acts of violence in La Araucanía (and the southern macrozone) had decreased, He recalled that in previous periods the same thing had happened, but that later reactivations of the same violent groups emerged.. Three days did not pass and an unprecedented ambush on the route that connects Tirúa with Cañete, in the early hours of April 27, left three non-commissioned officers murdered and an institution in mourning on the 97th anniversary of the Carabineros. lViolence had returned, as had been sentenced by someone familiar with the crime that operates in that area.
– Given the complexity of the case, the national prosecutor placed the responsibility on you to clarify this triple homicide. How do you take it?
As the Public Ministry we have been working intensely since the incident occurred to clarify what happened and bring these people to justice. Yesterday (Thursday) we carried out field work to recognize the places and carry out a search in search of evidence and also verify on the ground some hypotheses related to the dynamics of the events.
– You have already cleared up some things, such as that it is an act planned and committed by several people. What else is behind it?
The way of approaching the police and the fact that there are two places where the events occurred (a farm and the route) gives us light that there was preparation and the participation of a number of people, which cannot yet be determined, but must be a significant number considering that there were also three police officers.
– Unlike other cases there is no claim. What was the message that the murderers wanted to give, if this was planned and not accidental?
The evidence we have makes us think that the intention was to directly attack the Carabineros officials with the result that we already know. This crime has a message and it was to give a demonstration of force and territorial control, to the representatives, to the authorities of the State.
– What escapes from the “model” of other attacks being pursued in this area?
The manner of commission of the crime and the target. Normally in the acts of violence that are generated by the criminal organizations that operate in the southern macro zone, what has been seen are attacks on civilians or certain people associated with productive activities. And in this case there is an attack that is directed directly against police. And regarding that we had no history of this level of violence. Now, it was not the first time that police officers were shot. There are many previous records of attacks, for example, on police stations or officials who are carrying out certain protection measures. But never with this level of planning or violence and it also took place on the same day as the institutional anniversary celebration. That was a coup d’état, it is not a fortuitous event.
– Do you believe that the chosen date was not random?
Yes. We have history that indicates that there was planning and the date is another element to consider.
-The date and also the context that is being experienced in the area due to Llaitul’s conviction?
The background we have so far shows that this is an action that is part of what criminal organizations carry out, they are part of the organized crime that operates in the area. And in that context, there are the convictions not only of Héctor Llaitul but also others that have been obtained in recent times. Added to this are the arrests of several people associated with these violent groups. All this could explain, in part, this reaction. What is true, in no way could it be linked solely to a single event.
– You talk about organized crime. Is this still linked to groups that act with vehicle theft, wood theft or has the panorama changed in the southern macro zone?
The phenomenon of organized crime in the southern macro zone is, from my point of view, even prior to the phenomenon that is registered in the urban zone. What has existed for a long time here is the ability of certain groups to carry out violent actions raising a demand for territorial control. To the extent that these groups have had a certain capacity to act, this has allowed the flourishing of criminal organizations that are dedicated to carrying out crimes that are in no way linked to the demands of the indigenous peoples.
– Which ones are you referring to?
Drug trafficking, robbery with intimidation, wood theft, extortion. What we see today as a form of violence are precisely these actions. The groups that operate in the southern macrozone do not have a political discourse, nor approaches of that nature, but have been dedicated for several years only to carrying out criminal activities.
– Do they operate with greater security precisely because there are territories where, for example, the police cannot enter, such as Temucuicui?
It is precisely that the territorial control that I am talking about is a way of allowing criminal organizations to operate. The territorial control demanded by certain groups, certain organizations in the southern zone, is no different from the control sought by organizations in the urban centers of the country or in the north. The only difference is that this territorial control is demanded in the southern area associated with ancestral rights. And on the other hand, in the northern or central zone, it is rather simply linked to de facto territorial control. It does not have the same justification, but in practice they are the same, it is a space where I expel the State, and this allows the exercise of criminal activities with greater ease and as a way of seeking impunity for the participants in these groups.
-Could there be a political motive behind this triple homicide?
What I can reiterate and say with some plausibility is that this was an attack, an action, that was intended to attack Carabineros officials. For what subsequent purpose? I can’t support that yet, but we are working on it.
– One of the most dangerous routes, a precautionary inspection at night… Is the actions of the police in question? Could they have been accompanied by Navy personnel, taking into account the state of emergency?
The way in which they execute this and the protection that is required for this is something that is determined by the police themselves and by the heads of the National Defense. Obviously it will be part of the investigation to incorporate background information regarding the routine of these officials and explain the reasons why they were carrying out these actions, but at the moment I do not have a conclusion in this regard.
– Have you thought about hiring a hitman? Taking into account some pamphlets that offered money to murder police officers in Coronel…
At this moment we are following all the lines that have a certain plausibility, precisely also with the purpose of not only identifying the people, but also determining as accurately as possible what the motivations are, in addition to the direct attack on the police themselves. We are working along those lines… this is going to be a long-term investigation and there are many proceedings that are still being carried out.
– Organized crime in cities, like Santiago, is associated – in some cases – with foreign gangs. Do you have cases with these factors in the south?
So far we have no record of foreigners who have directly participated in the actions of violence in the macrozone. But we can’t rule anything out.
You are credited with having dismantled the CAM. Does that give more strength to other radicalized groups?
I do not consider that the CAM is disjointed or that it has disappeared. I believe that criminal organizations are mutating and are also very flexible in their form of organization. These organizations are ultimately made up of people who have criminal interests that they will support and that can move from one organization to another or that can form new ones. From my point of view, we still have a long way to go in working to dismantle all the groups that are acting in the region of La Araucanía and in the provinces of Biobío.
What do you observe about these groups today?
There is a rearticulation or a form of action that is now much less frontal and explicit, but with greater preparation and violence. These are phenomena that have taken place on other occasions; there is a history of homicides and very violent actions in the past. Just remember the murder of the Luchsinger couple. It seems to me that we are beginning a path to address and understand that we are dealing with criminal organizations and not people who commit acts of violent protest. That is perhaps the main change that we can see today. It is no longer possible to think that we are dealing with forms of violent protest that have some justification in the rights of indigenous peoples, but rather that these are criminal groups that seek profit and profits for themselves, as a form of subsistence and that is what we must chase.
