Chile seeks Augusto Pinochet’s private weapons held by drug traffickers

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In the midst of a wave of violence attributed to organized crime, the Chilean prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation to find out the whereabouts of a lost arsenal belonging to the dictator Augusto Pinochet (1915-2006), after one of his pistols appeared in the hands of a young man accused of drug trafficking in the south of the country.

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On Monday, during a police operation in the city of Valdivia, 744 kilometers south of Santiago, in the Los Ríos region, security forces found a 380 caliber Pietro Beretta pistol registered to Pinochet, a weapon reported lost since 2014 and which revealed the existence of 18 others whose whereabouts are unknown.

Different handguns like Glock, Colt, SIG Sauer, Zick, Taurus revolver and shotgun They are part of that arsenal lost in the name of Pinochet, as reported by the local media La Tercera after consulting the police report registered at the 53rd police station of Lo Barnechea, in the Metropolitan Region.

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The complaint was filed by the younger son of the former general, Marco Antonio Pinochet Hiriart, that he would have made an inventory of his father’s possessions noting the absence of these weapons.

The Pinochet clan, in an undated picture.  Photo: AP

The Pinochet clan, in an undated picture. Photo: AP

“Until the date of the complaint, i.e. 30 April 2014, they were not foundfor which they are presumed to have been sold, or sold by his father, ignoring the identities of people who could have said weapons,” the document said.

on the black market

Although the original complaint did not give rise to a judicial investigation, after the events in Valdivia, the Public Prosecutor will open an investigation into the possibility that these weapons they are circulating on the black market or are already in the hands of criminal organizations.

Chile, one of the safest countries in the region, experience an increase in violence which has left three officers dead in different procedures in recent months.

According to the Undersecretary for Crime Prevention, 934 homicides occurred in 2022, which implies a rate of 4.7 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants – well below the regional average – and represents an increase of 34.33% compared to the previous year, when there were 695 homicides.

Another relevant figure is that during 2022, according to a report by the Investigative Police (PDI), the use of firearms in homicides increased by 45.9%, and their distribution within organized crime is one of the major government concerns. .

EFE extension

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Source: Clarin

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