MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Monsalve case saga: Former official threatened in prison by criminal gang

Monsalve was to be housed in a special module isolated from the rest of the inmates in Rancagua but that was not enough

The case of former Undersecretary of the Interior Manuel Monsalve keeps making headlines in Chile even after the former official has been placed under pre-trial detention to face rape charges against a female worker under him. A judge ordered him transferred Friday from the Rancagua Jailhouse to the Capitán Yáber detention facility in Santiago's Metropolitan Region out of security concerns.

Monsalve received death threats in Rancagua allegedly from Antonella Marchant, the alleged leader of the criminal gang known as “Los Marchant,” an organization linked to drug trafficking and crime.

The former official's legal team requested an injunction and accused Chile's Gendarmería of failing to guarantee their client's safety. “The prison officials have shown that they are not in a position to provide individual security to the defendant,” lawyers Cristián Arias, Lino Disi, and María Inés Horvitz argued.

However, Justice Minister Jaime Gajardo replied: “The former undersecretary is in a low-danger module, with security guarantees.” Should any risk be detected, it would be taken to the court's knowledge, he added while launching a probe into the alleged threats.

Monsalve was taken to the Rancagua prison on Tuesday. He was to be housed in a special module isolated from the rest of the inmates. The authorities had also claimed that the detention facility was equipped with whatever Monsalve might need healthcare-wise. His case has heavily dented President Gabriel Boric Font's approval ratings.