REPORTAGE. General director of Carabineros in a terrible scenario

The possibility is open that he will not continue in office, formalized for the crime of omission in the face of serious repressive actions by the Carabineros during the days of social protests in 2019. From various areas they are demanding his resignation or his removal from office. “The general director of Carabineros should resign within the framework of this process,” said deputy Nathalie Castillo. Amnesty International said that “in our opinion the permanence of General Yáñez is unsustainable” and groups of relatives and victims of repression called for a demonstration around the uniformed police command building. Since 2019, lawyers and human rights institutions have filed complaints and accusations against Carabineros for human rights violations, crimes against humanity, illegitimate coercion, torture, sexual abuse, among others. There were more than 4 thousand complaints. In “command responsibility” were always the then director general, Mario Rozas, the head of Order and Security, Ricardo Yáñez and the deputy director of the uniformed police, Diego Olate. Something that could aggravate things for the general director is that knowing that it would be formalized by the North Central Prosecutor’s Office, he launched an attack against prosecutors Ximena Chong and Xavier Armendáriz, even accusing them of having “hatred” against him and asking that they be disqualified. The Government remains “cautious”, that is, no decision is seen in the short term. It was said that legally there is no impediment for Yáñez to continue in office and he insisted on valuing the good work with Carabineros. The uncomfortable call between the President and the head of the Carabineros.

Gonzalo Magueda. Patricia Ryan. Journalists. “The century”. Santiago. 6/1/2024. A.- “I will continue working until conditions allow it.” The assertion made by the general director of Carabineros, Ricardo Yáñez, before a group of generals of the police institution, has at least two derivatives: that he knows that the judicial conclusions from the formalization against him made by the North Central Prosecutor’s Office They can disqualify him from holding office, while at the same time a climate can be created that leaves no other option than to resign or the Government removes him from police leadership. It is a fact that this is the scenario in which the head of the Carabineros is, accused of the crime of omission in the face of illegitimate pressures resulting in serious injuries and homicide. It happens that General Yáñez was head of Order and Security, that is, he was the immediate command and executor of the Special Forces, the uniformed police force that applied repression during the days of social demonstrations in 2019; police unit responsible for firing pellets, rubber bullets and tear gas at the heads, eyes and bodies of protesters, leaving at least one dead, two people blind, 400 young people with eye trauma and more than two thousand injured. Some experts commented that in other countries with just that accusation and formalization, a police chief would have resigned or been removed from his position.

B.- In the last 48 hours, given this situation, from different sectors the actions of General Ricardo Yáñez when he was in charge of the Special Forces were once again repudiated and his departure from the uniformed police position was demanded. The deputy of the Socialist Party (PS), Marcos Ilabaca, maintained that “we cannot have a general director who has been formalized” and the deputy of the Communist Party, Nathalie Castillo indicated that “today the general director of Carabineros should resign within the framework of this process and, in addition, respond to justice.” Andrés Giordano, a deputy close to the Frente Amplio, declared that “there is an incompatibility with his permanence in office, as there would be with any other accusation of a public official.” Groups of Relatives of Victims of the dictatorship and Groups of Victims and Relatives of the Social Outbreak called for a demonstration this Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. in Alameda Bernardo O’Higgins and Zenteno, where the Carabineros higher command building is located, to “demand the resignation of Ricardo Yáñez. Other human rights groups and social organizations would join. Although the head of Carabineros indicated that he will continue in office concerned about his tasks, deputy Gael Yeomans, from Convergencia Social, pointed out that the formalization and the coming process “will have you worried and you will not have all your senses focused on one of the most important concerns that citizens have, which is security.” The Executive Director of Amnesty International Chile, Rodrigo Bustos, in an interview on Radio Universidad de Chile, stated that “we always pointed out that not only did we have to clarify the responsibility of those who directly caused the injuries to those who demonstrated, but also of the commanders, especially all strategic commands such as those that are currently being requested to be formalized.” He added that “in our opinion, the permanence of General Yáñez in charge of an institution responsible for complying with the law is unsustainable, when his director is today ready to be formalized for serious and widespread violations of human rights.” The PC deputy, Luis Cuello, quoted by Emol, expressed that “the State has the duty to clarify and punish the human rights violations committed under the Piñera administration and these investigations are located in that area…If the formalization of the In general, it would be very complex for him to remain at the head of the institution.” By the way, the head of Carabineros, as is common, has the support of the right, the extreme right and conservative sectors of the country.

C.- Since 2019, lawyers and human rights institutions have filed complaints and accusations against the Carabineros of Chile for human rights violations, crimes against humanity, illegitimate coercion, torture, sexual abuse, among others. There were more than 4 thousand complaints against Carabineros in the Public Ministry. In command responsibility were always the then director general, Mario Rozas, the head of Order and Security, Ricardo Yáñez and the deputy director of the uniformed police, Diego Olate. Apart from dozens of accused officers, non-commissioned officers and police officers and some prosecuted. At one point, it was prosecutors Ximena Chong and Xavier Armendáriz who began the investigations that, until now, indicate criminal responsibilities of Rozas, Yáñez and Olate. They would not have taken measures to correct the repressive actions and the protocols in actions against protesters (despite what was happening with eye victims, serious injuries from various injuries, the death of a person from a tear gas bomb, the inappropriate use of shotguns and ammunition, the use of gas and water cannons, beatings, arbitrary arrests, coercion and abuse in police stations and police cars, etc.), they would have maintained an attitude of omission and not given instructions to modify the current police system such as throwing pellets and tear gas bombs to people’s heads. The director general is under the concept of “command responsibility” and it has been pointed out in documents linked to this process that “the concept of responsibility of the superior is rooted in the understanding that by virtue of the authority they carry, commanders are prepared to exercise control over their troops and the weapons they use; More than anyone else they can avoid violations by creating the appropriate state of mind, ensuring the rational use of combat means and maintaining discipline. It joins unofficial versions that, on the contrary, Generals Rozas and Yáñez went to greet and encourage the members of the Special Forces, appreciating their work, without making reference to improper acts, inappropriate use of repressive weapons and non-compliance with protocols. The case of a worker who died, as a result of a tear gas bomb that hit him in the head, is part of the ongoing process.

D.- Something that could tend to aggravate things for the general director is that knowing, before it was publicly reported, that it would be formalized by the North Central Prosecutor’s Office, he launched an attack against prosecutors Ximena Chong and Xavier Armendáriz, and accused them – through his lawyer Jorge Martínez – of “enmity, hatred or resentment against the person of the general director of the Carabineros and against the institution.” Immediately afterwards, the disqualification of these prosecutors from continuing in the case was requested. An unprecedented fact that could lead to the interference of Carabineros in the application of justice and due process. Added to this is that General Ricardo Yáñez did not want to appear before Prosecutor Chong when he was summoned and the only time he went to the Prosecutor’s Office he remained silent. That is to say, he has not given explanations or actually appeared before Justice.

E.- In the midst of all this, the role that the Government could assume was appealed to, since according to the powers of the President of the Republic, the position may be requested of the general director of Carabineros, in this case, formalized by omission in the face of crimes committed. by uniformed men under his command. There are antecedents that are not entirely similar, but have to do with permanence in office, such as when the commander in chief of the Army, Ricardo Martínez, resigned, summoned to testify in the case of fraud and other crimes within that military entity. He preferred to step aside so as not to compromise his institution in anything. In this case everything indicates that Yáñez wants to continue, he will not resign. And the Government remains “cautious”, that is, no decision is seen in the short term. The Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Luis Cordero, expressed that “legally there is no impediment” for the head of the Carabineros to continue in office and assured that “we will be waiting for the formalization and knowledge of the background that there “they surrender.” The acting Minister of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve, declared to the press that “the request for formalization does not alter the relationship with the Carabineros in any way, therefore, the President’s instruction is to continue working with the Carabineros of Chile,” which was tacitly interpreted how to continue working with Yáñez. “We must take all this with caution,” said Government spokesperson Camila Vallejo and added: “We want to wait for the hearing. “The interest that the institutions function in this case will always prevail, also with all the intensity that is required.” Of course, things got complicated when the lawyer of the general director of the uniformed police expressed that “I confess that yesterday the President of the Republic already spoke with General Yáñez and expressed all his support, both as President of the Republic as a person” and reinforced: “It was a call of absolute support, of great concern on the part of the President and that of course he is not going to make any decision until he knows what the background is and what the magnitude of the formalization would be. ”. By the way, this generated reactions and then President Gabriel Boric said to the press that “this was born from a statement by General Yáñez’s lawyer, which the same lawyer felt he had the duty to deny” and the president asserted that “the “Private conversations are not discussed publicly.” At least it was clear that the call existed. And the head of the Executive insisted on the continuity of the good work with the uniformed police although he warned that “there is no doubt that as a Government we are attentive to this”, alluding to the formalization of the general director of the Carabineros. Everything indicates, then, that the Government would not take any steps until May, when the formalization of the general director materializes and more background and conclusions of the accusations against him are known.