General director Ricardo Yáñez, looking towards the exit door?

The possibility of him resigning from the position was revived because it was formalized for omission of illegitimate coercion resulting in serious injuries and homicide. Of course, if one considers his position of defending the repressive actions of the Carabineros in 2019, his refusal to collaborate with justice, his accusation that the Prosecutor’s Office is persecuting him, his acceptance of the support given to him by right-wing politicians, and the position of La Currency to wait what happens with the formalization, it seems clear that Yáñez has no intention of resigning. In any case, the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Luis Cordero, stated that ““I would expect the CEO to consider his resignation.” given the formalization and the need for the high command to be legitimized and focused on the fight against crime. “It is unpresentable that the director of Carabineros is accused,” said PC legislator, Nathalie Castillo. The president of the PS, Paulina Vodanovic, said that “The time has come for the President to evaluate and indicate what is best in a context of serious insecurity.” Meanwhile, the right and the extreme right cling to the defense of the head of the Carabineros, no small sign.

Gonzalo Magueda. Journalist. “The century”. Santiago. 3/18/2024. The possibility that the general director of Carabineros, Ricardo Yáñez, resign from his position was revived because he will be formalized for breach of institutional duties according to an investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office.

“I would expect the director general to evaluate his resignation before it is formalized,” said the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Luis Cordero, and indicated that what he says regarding the case of the chief of the uniformed police “is an act of responsibility of the authority that is involved in making a decision.”

In these days, several legislators from the ruling party once again stated that the general director should resign from his position “due to institutional responsibility”, “to protect the institution” and because “it is not healthy that, being formalized, he continues to lead the Carabineros.” ”.

Ricardo Yáñez will be formalized next May for responsibility in the crime of omission of illegitimate restraints resulting in serious injuries and homicide of citizens during the social revolt of 2019. It happens that the officer on that date was the head of the Order Directorate and Security (Dioscar) which, among other things, had him in command of the Carabineros Special Forces, the entity accused of systematic and widespread repression against protesters. During the social revolt there were 34 deaths, 460 people with eye amputations, two officers were prosecuted for blinding two people, more than 2 thousand injuries were recorded, there were 8,827 complaints for violations of human and civil rights and more than 2 thousand complaints for pressures and abuses by police and military.

Yáñez never assumed any responsibility for those events, he refused to testify and collaborate with the Prosecutor’s Office and, as noted during the investigation, he always opted for omission in the face of these illegitimate pressures exerted by police officers. A very delicate situation.

Thus, now the general director of Carabineros, contrary to what should happen with someone in that position, is involved in a political, ethical and institutional controversy.

When it was confirmed by the court that the general director of the uniformed police would be formalized next May, the uniformed office became a space for political expressions, receiving leaders and legislators from the right who came to give it a media and political support in the face of a judicial decision, something described as implausible and inadequate. But General Yáñez smiled in front of the cameras surrounded by opposition political figures.

By the way, segments of the ruling party joined these displays of political support, mainly leaders and legislators of the Socialist Party.

However, there were and are many voices that point to another reality and dimension in this case. Especially after being formalized, for other types of causes and crimes, the general director of the Investigative Police (PDI), Sergio Muñoz, decided to resign, to step aside.

The statement by the Minister of Justice and Human Rights once again put institutional considerations on the table that would indicate that the best thing for the Carabineros institution and institutional health at a time when the security agenda takes over the national scene, would be the resignation of Yáñez.

The head of the Christian Democracy parliamentary bench, Eric Aedo, said that “it is very serious that the general director of the Carabineros and the general director of the PDI are formalized. And if the director of the Investigative Police has to step aside, I think that General Yánez should also leave his position. If we are going to confront organized crime, drug trafficking, and delinquency, we need the leaders of our law enforcement and security institutions to have the full support and trust of the citizens and the government and of all institutions.”

The president of the Party for Democracy, Senator Jaime Quintana, expressed that “I see no reason to apply a different criterion (from Muñoz) with General Yáñez. The Government has established a criterion that puts police institutions first and that is what should take precedence.”

“It is unacceptable that the director of Carabineros is accused. We have heard clearly and emphatically from the Government that no one is above the law, consequently, it is to be expected that Yáñez will resign following the criteria of the former director of the PDI,” stated the Communist Party legislator, Nathalie Castillo.

The Humanist Action deputy, Tomás Hirsch, declared that “it is impossible, it is unthinkable to have police directors in a situation in which they are formalized or are about to be formalized. We said it from the first moment in relation to the general director of the Carabineros and we also said it in relation to the director of the PDI. He has already submitted his resignation and one would expect the general director of Carabineros to do the same.”

Government: Wait for the “turning point”, whatever happens with formalization

Within the ruling party and also from other areas, it is considered that the Government could make some decision regarding the situation of the head of the Carabineros, which is within the powers of the Executive.

It is argued that having the general director in the folder to be formalized, being in that situation because the Prosecutor’s Office determined omission of its duty in the face of human rights violations, having a history of refusing to collaborate with the investigations, and experiencing this circumstance in the midst of requirements for the proper progress of the fight against crime, organized crime and drug trafficking, constitutes a framework that makes the resignation of the police chief viable and appropriate.

Matías Ramírez, legislator of the Communist Party, indicated that “the prompt formalization of General Yáñez for command responsibility in the popular revolt…requires a clear position from the Government.” He argued that “in these cases, without discussing the presumption of innocence (), the functioning of the institutions is called into question…”

Meanwhile, the president of the Socialist Party and senator, Paulina Vodanovic, said that “the time has come for the President (Gabriel Boric) to evaluate and indicate what is best in a context of serious insecurity situation and where we have to have all the police focused on solving this serious problem we have.”

An influencing factor is that within President Boric’s administration there are those who think that Yáñez’s case is different from that of Muñoz (this is also thought in spheres of the ruling party and the opposition) and that it is better to wait to see what happens with him. the May formalization of the uniformed police chief.

Although there are also opinions that a situation of this type is unsustainable in the case of the highest chief of Carabineros at a time when total concentration and fluidity is required in the fight against criminal acts of all kinds that cross the country.

Of course, the spokesperson minister, Camila Vallejo, specified the view from La Moneda, declaring that “it is important to insist on something that we have said, both Minister Cordero himself and the rest of the Government authorities in this matter: it is that the Formalizations are a turning point and therefore, we responsibly consider that at that moment we have to make decisions, given that in the face of any question, the important thing is to protect the institutions and not a particular person.”

He emphasized that “evidently, formalization is a turning point and this is also independent of the fact that the President of the Republic always has the constant attribution of his authorities to determine whether or not he remains in office.”

Camila Vallejo remarked that “to the extent that the authorities, in this case the police, remain in charge, it is because the President of the Republic has decided to keep them in command until he decides otherwise. That decision is the one to which you can tell whether or not there is support for the particular work.”

The right continues to defend General Yáñez

A symptom to consider in the situation of the general director of the uniformed police is that the right and the extreme right fervently support him and, in the process, find another reason to go all out against the Government.

An element present in all this is that for the opposition there were no human rights violations in 2019, much less systematic, and they defend the actions of the uniformed police “in the face of irrational violence.” Therefore, the formalization of Yáñez for omission of illegitimate coercion resulting in serious injuries and homicide is something that the right and the extreme right reject.

Furthermore, in the opposition arc it is pointed out that the episode involving Sergio Muñoz, head of the PDI, has absolutely nothing to do with what is happening with Ricardo Yáñez.

Along these lines, the ultra-conservative legislator Camila Flores, stated in her account The ultra-left only needed an excuse to remove him.” Also on social networks, the president of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI), Senator Javier Macaya, maintained that “the government plays irresponsibly with the institution that is in charge of Chile’s biggest problem, security.” Ximena Rincón, senator of the Democrats group, stated that “in the case of the PDI there is a personal fact and in the case of the general director of Carabineros it has to do with whether he is responsible or not for not having done or not having been on top of the decisions that were made.” The UDI deputy, Juan Antonio Coloma, expressed that “the Government itself has taken a position on this issue. He accepts the resignation (of Muñoz), but not the general director of the Carabineros and it is because they are different causes” and he did not fail to point out that “we have seen a persecution by the prosecutor towards the police institution, for investigating the head of the institution.

And Yanez?

Until this day, the general director had not issued statements again about its formalization and even less about his actions in the repressive events and illegitimate coercion in 2019. Nor are there any known calls from La Moneda to talk about his situation. But there is no doubt that in private, and in his closest team, which includes the lawyer defending him, Ricardo Yáñez must be observing all the political controversy surrounding his case.

If one considers his willingness to defend the repressive actions of the Carabineros in 2019, his refusal to collaborate with justice, his accusation that the Prosecutor’s Office is persecuting him and his institution, his acceptance of the support that right-wing politicians gave him by receiving them and posing With them, and La Moneda’s position to wait for what happens with the formalization, it seems clear that Yáñez has no intention of resigning.

In short, the head of Carabineros remains undaunted by the political crisis that his case is triggering, he does not care about the effects that his case has on the Government and he is comfortable with the support of the opposition and segments of the ruling party.

But it is also true that it is not known what La Moneda is thinking these days, what new factors came into play, among them, the demand that the police high command be legitimized and focused on the fight against crime, and what will be possible. occur at the Congressional level.

Meanwhile, citizens watched the spectacle.