The departure of Manuel Monsalve as Chile's Interior Undersecretary seems to have been the beginning instead of the end of the problem for the Government of President Gabriel Boric Font. For starters, Monsalve's successor Luis Cordero admitted Thursday that there whereabouts of the man facing rape charges were unknown.
The Chilean Navy's icebreaker AGB-46 Almirante Viel received her combat flag during a cermony at the Talcahuano Naval Base. Viel Captain Juan Pablo Henríquez took delivery on Tuesday of the symbolic item from Chilean Maritime League President Admiral (ret.) Edmundo González.
A recent study conducted by the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) and the University of Santiago de Chile (USACH) reveals that citizens in Ecuador, Costa Rica, Chile, and Uruguay are increasingly open to harsh punitive measures, or mano dura, as a response to rising insecurity.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font's approval ratings fell sharply, according to a survey by pollsters Cadem Plaza Pública released in Santiago during the weekend. The head of state was found to only have a 27% positive image after the sex scandal involving former Interior Undersecretary Manuel Monsalve, who resigned days after the case against him was filed and only when he failed to keep it from public knowledge.
Chile's President Gabriel Boric Font chose Luis Cordero to replace Manuel Monsalve as Undersecretary of the Interior following the latter's resignation amid an alleged rape scandal currently under investigation, Interior Minister Carolina Tohá announced.
Manuel Monsalve turned in his resignation Thursday as Chile's Interior Undersecretary amid rape allegations. I have been informed during the course of this week that there is an accusation against me, of which I do not know the details, Monsalve said. I have not committed any conduct constituting a crime, he added while insisting that the reason for his departure was not to have any privilege during the investigation. Monsalve's alleged victim is a woman of legal age who works as an official at the Interior Undersecretariat.
Chilean authorities used a thermal drone to locate in the Magellan Strait area and later rescue a fisherman from the Pacific Ocean, it was reported Monday. The man later identified as Sergio Brito was wearing adequate clothing, thanks to which he survived the cold temperatures. In addition, he clung to seaweed while waiting for Carabineros and the Navy.
Chile's Interior Minister Carolina Tohá admitted Tuesday that her country needed to review its security policies, particularly regarding healthcare facilities, where several incidents have been recorded. According to the National Confederation of Municipal Health Officials (Confusam), there were 7,184 aggressions against healthcare staff nationwide last year, and these figures are on the rise now.
A survey released Sunday in Santiago showed that nearly 92% of Chileans disapproved of their country's Judiciary. The Plaza Pública Cadem study was conducted amid the corruption scandal involving criminal lawyer Luis Hermosilla and various magistrates and officials from former President Sebastián Piñera's administration (2018-2022).
The Chilean port of Arica saw 236,000 barrels of fuel unloaded for Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) while the city prepares for two days with no on-site classes as the local drinking water has been deemed unfit for human consumption given its hydrocarbon odor.