The arrest of a radical Mapuche leader raises tensions and shakes Chile a few days after the historic plebiscite

Tension in southern Chile intensified after the arrest this Wednesday of Héctor Llaitul, one of the main Mapuche radical leaders. This arrest threatens to further foment conflict with this indigenous group in the Araucanía region, especially when there are 10 days left for the referendum on the proposed new constitution, which divides the population.

The founder of Coordinadora Arauco Malleco (CAM), an indigenous group that periodically claims malicious attacks against southern landowners, was arrested Wednesday after noon in the city of Cañete, some 600 kilometers south of the Chilean capital, “without resisting. “. according to the Chilean investigative police (PDI).

He is accused of the alleged crimes of theft of timber, usurpation and assault on the authorities.

A few minutes later, he was taken by helicopter to a police station in nearby Temuco, the capital of the Araucanía region and the epicenter of the “Mapuche conflict”, which for decades confronted the main Chilean indigenous people with the state and large forest companies and agricultural.

“As a government, we want to make sure that the rule of law works and that no one is above the law,” Chilean Interior Minister Izkia Siches said at a press conference at La Moneda presidential palace.

But this Thursday, tensions rose in the south, with new arson, and Gabriel Boric’s government feared an escalation of violence, according to local media such as Third.

As night fell, two consecutive attacks were reported in the south of the country, where unknown armed men three trucks burned in Mulchen.

The truck owners assured that “the situation is critical from Los Angeles to Puerto Montt. Farmers, transporters, foresters and salmon farmers are exposed to sabotage by terrorist organizations such as CAM”.

Through social networks, the Mapuche communities have called themselves to accompany their leader to court this Thursday when the charges against him will be communicated.

After the arrest, the CAM called to initiate new “recovery processes” of the “ancestral lands”he criticized the government of President Boric, accusing it of being “pseudo-left” and saying that the event marks “a turning point”.

Two years of research

The arrest of Llaitul, who will go to court on Thursday, is part of an investigation that began in 2020 after a complaint filed by the previous administration, led by Sebastián Piñera (2018-2022).

Despite initially refused Gabriel Boric’s current government has expanded the complaint against Llaitul last July, after the Mapuche leader asked for the sabotage to continue.

Siches confirmed that the government “will participate in the hearings and request precautionary measures based on the criminal acts that will be analyzed by the legal teams”.

“We have managed, from our point of view, to demonstrate not only the existence of the crimes, but also the participation of the accused in them”, explained in another press conference in the south the prosecutor of Araucanía, Roberto Garrido.

Llaitul, 54, it is one of the most visible faces of the Mapuche armed struggle and he was the founder in 1997 of CAM, a group that aims at the “national liberation” of the Mapuche people and from which the more radical groups such as WAM (Weichán Auka Mapu) have distanced themselves.

The conflict with this indigenous people has intensified in recent times, with arson attacks on machinery and property and almost daily roadblocks, as well as shootings with victims.

Mapuche expert and professor at the University of Chile Salvador Millaleo said in statements to EFE that does not rule out CAM “reactions” and other groups and assured that the conflict, especially the theft of wood, will not be resolved with the arrest of Llaitul.

“The incidence that these groups have in the chain of the theft of timber is only part of it. There are people who provide the transport, who falsify the cards … It is a very long chain where one can even think that there is part of the sector public involved, “added Millaleo, who advised the Boric government in the first few months.

Impact on the plebiscite

The arrest was celebrated across the board by both the center-left ruling party and the right-wing opposition, but also by employers’ associations in the south.

The president of the Chilean Wood Corporation (Corma), Juan José Ugarte, stressed that “justice takes time but it arrives” and indicated that “it was incomprehensible to the victims that (Llaitul) was not detained, after confessing his participation in serious crimes “.

“This is the moment in which the judiciary must demonstrate that it can act firmly against the top terrorist operating in Chile and be finally judged for the serious crimes committed by his organization”, underlined the president of Araucanía Multigremial Patricio Santibanez.

Llaitul’s arrest takes place 11 days before the Chileans approve or reject the proposal for a new Constitution which aims to replace the current text, inherited from the military dictatorship.

The impact it could have on the historic September 4 vote is unknown, although experts warn it could influence the most undecided.

In this sense, the Interior Minister urged “not to take political advantage of this situation and let the institutions work”.

Source: EFE

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