Three non-commissioned officers of Chile's Carabineros Police were killed early Saturday in an ambush in the town of Cañete, near the city of Concepción, in the Bío Bío region some 500 kilometers south of Santiago. The crime, which is still under investigation, shocked the entire country. President Gabriel Boric Font promised it would not go unpunished and other officials even called for the reinstatement of the death penalty.
A rioter who had been convicted for his involvement in the 2019 uprisings and later pardoned by Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font was arrested Thursday by Carabineros in Copiapó on kidnapping charges.
Street crime and violence have triggered a major political crisis in Chile, because of rampant insecurity, and the third police officer in less than a month was killed on duty. The leftish/populist government of Chile has had to sign draconian laws favoring law enforcement officer's right to use their arms, increased penalties for crimes involving firearm possession, plus US$ 1,5 billion in funds to fight crime,
Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font's brother Simón was attacked by demonstrators Thursday at the University of Chile in Santiago's Alameda as he tried to prevent an ongoing case of looting, it was reported.
Chilean Home Secretary Rodrigo Delgado confirmed on Wednesday the death of two members of the Mapuche community following a shoot out with Marines and Carabineros in the Biobío Region which is under an exceptional emergency state precisely because of continued acts of violence.
At least two people have died and no less than 450 others were arrested Monday in Santiago and other parts of Chile as demonstrators took to the streets to commemorate the second anniversary of the popular uprisings which led to a series of changes, including a Constitutional reform which is currently being drafted.
While Chile's presidential delegate at Tarapacá, Miguel Ángel Quezada, accused Bolivia on Thursday of not making any effort to prevent the crossing of irregular migrants through the common border, authorities from both countries have formed four working groups to coordinate the fight against drug trafficking.
Amnesty International has sent a letter to European leaders who Chilean president Sebastian Piñera is currently visiting expressing concern about the serious human rights violations and impunity that continue to put all people in Chile at risk. Piñera is currently visiting France, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, and the Vatican.
A police raid in a Chilean indigenous community in Ercilla, Araucanía Region the stronghold of the Mapuche tribe went uncompleted and ended in a serious shootout between members of the Carabineros, Investigation Police and local residents.
Chilean officials strongly condemned the display of guns during the funeral of a man who was killed in a shootout with Carabineros following an arson attack, which took place last Friday in an estate in La Araucanía Region.