MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chief prosecutor of Chile's new special unit appointed

The FST targets the core of criminal prosecution, Valencia has said

Chile's Chief Prosecutor Ángel Valencia has appointed Miguel Ángel Orellana as the first head of the new Supraterritorial Prosecutor's Office (FST) created specifically to combat organized crime and highly complex transnational cases. Until now, Orellana served as chief prosecutor for High-Complexity Cases at the Eastern Metropolitan Regional Prosecutor's Office.

“This appointment marks the beginning of the establishment of an unprecedented structure in our country, which will allow the Public Prosecutor's Office to more effectively tackle organized crime and crimes that transcend regional and national borders,” Valencia said in a statement.

The FST is an “unprecedented structure” in Chile, established by constitutional reform (Law No. 21,644 in February 2024) to allow the Public Prosecutor's Office to more effectively tackle crimes that transcend regional and national borders.

The FST will have national jurisdiction over organized crime, highly complex crimes, and cases requiring supraregional or transnational coordination (such as drug trafficking, money laundering, human trafficking, and public corruption).

Orellana, who has over 20 years of experience leading High-Complexity and Organized Crime units, will take office on Jan. 5, 2026.

The FST will report directly to Valencia and will have enhanced powers to coordinate investigation teams and strategies nationwide.