Chile continues to search for the perpetrators of the murders of three police officers while the investigation continues

While investigations continue to clarify how Murder of three police officers Saturday morning in the field of bio bioAn intensive search is underway in central-southern Chile to find the perpetrators of a crime that shocked the country this weekend.

Undersecretary of the Interior of Chile, manuel monsalveannounced this Sunday that the government will file complaints against the Carabineros against those responsible for murder, violations of weapons laws and criminal organization, crimes that carry eligible life sentences.

“We are aspiring for the highest penalty,” Monsalve said at a press point from the scene.

During the day this Sunday, the bodies of the agents were also handed over to their families after the Legal Medical Service (SML) completed its expertise, which will be one of the key points of the investigation.

The attack against Public Order Control (COP) officers of the Los Alamos Police Station took place in the city Canete, 600 kilometers south of the capital, when a group of armed men opened fire on a police patrol, before setting fire to the vehicle inside. One sergeant and two corporals were burnt to death.

It is the worst attack against the Carabineros, the country’s militarized police, in recent history. multiple murders Also, according to the first investigation, the manner in which the agents were murdered.

Monsalve later said in a television interview, “This is a phenomenon whose methodology does not match what we know about rural violence in recent years, and the investigation must determine what we are facing.” “

Bio bio and fields of Araucania has been the scene of conflict for decades including Indigenous peoples, the state and large landowners and forestry businesses Who exploit lands and forests considered ancestral by indigenous communities.

From May 2022, a state of emergency is in place in an attempt to control attacks, mostly incendiary sabotage, by armed groups in areas affected by the conflict.

This situation has now been combined with a The security crisis the country is going through And this has led to an increase in violent crimes and organized crime.

“We are facing a specific and specific incident or change in the landscape and strategies of rural violence. “This is something that must be clarified within the framework of the investigation,” the authority stressed.

Amidst the turmoil, which coincided with the commemoration of Carabineros Day in Chile, the controversy was reopened as to whether it was time for a general director of the Carabineros, ricardo yanezLeaves his post after being charged by the Prosecutor’s Office for his final command responsibility Human rights violations committed during the 2019 social outbreak.

Although this week the government, under pressure from a section of the ruling party, had announced that the police chief would leave office before his formality (indictment by a judge) on May 7, this harsh blow to the Carabineros changed the scenario.

Interior Minister, Carolina TohaConfirmed that the government will not remove him from office despite his upcoming charge: “It is not appropriate to make a change in command at this time,” he said.

“While we consider it very inconvenient that officers are facing simultaneous investigations, at a time like this, it would not be appropriate to remove police leadership,” he explained.

both presidents gabriel boric Like Toha on Saturday, he had already raised questions on his resignation.

The change in the police institution comes exactly a year after another crisis triggered by the killings of three police officers in less than 21 days. The episode promoted a legislative agenda on security that grants police officers greater powers in the use of weapons and part of which is under process in Congress.

(with information from EFE)