The Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR) responded to a request made by deputy Gloria Naveillán (independent of the Social Christian Party bench) and UDI deputies Cristian Labbé and Cristhian Moreira, who requested to determine the legality and nature of the agreement concluded between the ministries of Chile and Venezuela, which aims to police collaboration.
It is worth mentioning that a publication by the Venezuelan newspaper “La Razón” – a dissident of Nicolás Maduro – claimed in February of this year that the kidnapping of Venezuelan lieutenant Ronald Ojeda was carried out within the framework of the “police agreement” signed between the Chilean administration. and Venezuelan. But, “it is a total lie,” said the Undersecretary of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve, on that occasion.
Today, after analyzing the background information, the Comptroller’s Office determined that, in accordance with the legal system, the Ministry of the Interior and Public Security (MISP) Yes, it is empowered, in its capacity as a State Administration body, to celebrate inter-institutional agreements of an international nature with foreign entities, which affect matters within its sphere of competence..
The parliamentarians required, in particular, that its legal nature be established, since, in their opinion, if it were an international agreement, it would require the approval of the National Congress.
However, the CGR’s statement states that, in accordance with article 35 of Law No. 21,080, and taking into account the “recrudescence” of transnational organized crime, the Ministry of the Interior and Public Security (MISP) of Chile signed said agreement to promote, coordinate and encourage crime prevention and control measures. And, in that context, it agrees with its counterpart, the Ministry of Popular Power for Interior Relations, Justice and Peace of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, on mutual collaboration, to facilitate the exchange of information necessary for the investigation of crimes that are expression of organized crime.
It should be noted that for the analysis of this parliamentary request, reports were requested from both the Ministry of the Interior and Public Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Review the Comptroller’s opinion.
Government values Comptroller’s opinion
From the Undersecretariat of the Interior and Public Security commanded by Manuel Monsalve, who traveled to Caracas last January to sign this cooperation agreement, they valued the opinion of the control body led by Dorothy Pérez.
Through a statement, they indicated that the opinion of the Comptroller’s Office “comes to confirm what the Government of Chile indicated from the beginning, in the sense that it is not an international treaty, but rather an inter-institutional agreement concluded in accordance with to the law.”
Likewise, they reaffirm the work carried out recently, with the signing of this type of understanding with Bolivia (2023) and the dialogue that is currently being carried out with Peru. They also highlight “the signature of Chile for its incorporation into AMERIPOL, or the recent participation of our country in the Assistance Program against Transnational Organized Crime (PacCto 2.0) and the III Summit of Ministers of the Latin American Committee for Internal Security (CLASI). ), among other”.
“We reaffirm our decision to continue seeking different spaces for international cooperation, in accordance with that established in the National Organized Crime Policy, to confront transnational organized crime and guarantee the right to security of Chileans,” concludes the statement from the Undersecretary of the Interior.