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The first sign of the fall of Mario Rozas as director of the Carabineros it was delivered by the President himself Sebastian Piñera yesterday afternoon, after it was known that officials of the institution shot two minors in a Sename center in Talcahuano. The Head of State decided to withdraw from the ceremony of retirement and promotion of generals.
“The President has contacted the Minister of the Interior, Rodrigo Delgado; the Minister of Justice, Hernán Larraín; the mayor of the Biobío region, Sergio Giacaman; and the defender of Children, Patricia muñoz“, The Presidency reported yesterday, at 7.15pm, adding that” due to the above, the President will not be able to attend the Carabineros ceremony. “
At that point, in the Palace all the alerts were on the table. Piñera, they say in his surroundings, was affected and annoyed when he heard the news, since, once again, the institution was questioned by a procedure. And, for the same reason, in his dialogue with Delgado, he asked him to instruct Rozas quickly to clarify the facts and to gather all the available information.
Delgado -together with the undersecretary Juan Francisco Galli, with whom he was at the Carabineros ceremony – spoke in person with Rozas for about 15 minutes. In that conversation they asked him for background information and for speed in clarifying the facts. Later, Delgado made a press point.
Since last night in La Moneda they transmitted that the continuity of Rozas at the head of the Carabineros was in doubt because his “current account” had already been “overdrawn” since the social outbreak. This, due to the complaints of human rights violations committed by uniformed men during the demonstrations; and, now last, in the case of the Pío Nono bridge. In fact, several recall that before Rozas three ministers fell – Andrés Chadwick, Gonzalo Blumel and Víctor Pérez – all of them, at some point, questioned about the institution’s actions.
And they add that, in that scenario, the episode in Talcahuano was immediately considered a very serious event: first, because it involved minors; and second, because the incident took place inside a facility that should be a shelter for minors and in which the duty of the State is to protect them. In that sense, the fate of Rozas for some was cast.
Thus, in the Palace they affirm that Several on the political committee urged that it was time for Rozas to leave office. In fact, in Interior they say that this It was strongly promoted by Delgado since last night and that is how he transmitted it to Piñera at a meeting they held this morning. This, in a scenario in which, in addition, the conviction in the government was added that clarifying the facts would take time and the questions from the opposition and different organizations pressing for the departure of Rozas, generating an atmosphere of tension that, in the opinion of the Executive, it would become unsustainable.
The President met early today with the Ministers of the Interior and Justice, an appointment in which it was resolved to summon Rozas and his successor, General Ricardo Yañez, to La Moneda, who arrived at the Palace around 8.50. In that dialogue, Piñera told Rozas that the situation was untenable and that, therefore, he had to step aside.
In La Moneda they add that Piñera had been evaluating Rozas’s departure since last night and that this morning he finished settling his position.
“This morning, the general director of the Carabineros, Mario Rozas, has proposed his resignation to me and has given me his reasons and his arguments. I share the reasons and arguments of General Rozas and, consequently, I have accepted his resignation, ”said Piñera in a statement he made in the courtyard of Los Naranjos de La Moneda, in which he was accompanied by Delgado, Rozas, Yáñez and Galli. And I add: “I want to express with all the strength and clarity in the world that I have the greatest appreciation, admiration and gratitude for the work that General Rozas has accomplished, a lifetime dedicated to the service of the Carabineros.”
The President also said that “I want to end these words by expressing my solidarity, my condolences, for the children who were injured with their families and also with the police who were injured and with their families.”
In La Moneda they explain that although Piñera in his statements said that Rozas had submitted his resignation, in reality it was the President who asked for it, but that it was decided to communicate it in this way so as not to further weaken the institution and not deliver signals that could cause annoyance in Carabineros.
This point, in fact, has always been a dilemma for La Moneda to publicly confront the questions towards the institution. This, because in the government there is concern that this could end up discouraging the police and falling into what is known as “sagging arms.”
In addition, in Palacio they point out that Rozas – unlike what happened with Hermes Soto, whom Piñera removed by sending a decree founded because he refused to resign – shared the diagnosis of the situation and accepted his departure immediately. And they add that if he had not accepted, they would have removed him anyway, although they emphasize that the now former director had no responsibility in the incidents and that he was a policeman with a long history, but that he was the authority at the head of the institution and that he “Absolutely worn out.”
The way in which he left, however, generated some questions in sectors of the opposition. For example, Senator Ximena Rincon (DC), president of the Children’s Commission, said that Piñera “not only fired Rozas with honors, but also spoke of injuries to children, and I clearly believe that the President lives in a parallel world.”
Later, Minister Larraín would announce in the Chamber of Deputies that the Judicial Assistance Corporation was requested to filing a complaint for what happened in Talcahuano. And held that “We must reflect on how the Carabineros has advanced in this matter, because episodes like those that happened yesterday are simply unacceptable.”
In parallel to what was happening inside La Moneda, at 8:00 Rozas met today with the 41 generals of the institution. At the School of Officers, located in Antonio Varas, in Providencia, his mission was to convey the challenges for the new command.
However, before ending the appointment, the now former director of the institution addressed the case that ended up making him fall and explained the scope that the cause could have, calling for the corresponding responsibilities.
Later, around 9:00 a.m., Rozas informed them of his decision: he was leaving the Carabineros, and he wanted to say goodbye. He told them that the important thing was the institution and that he would step aside. A few minutes later, together with his successor, General Yáñez, he headed for La Moneda.
After the appointment with President Piñera, Rozas returned to the School of Officers to finish what is known as the “consultative general.” There he reiterated his decision and that the most important thing was to advance in the reform of the institution. He said goodbye to the uniformed men, left the command to General Yáñez and retired around 11.00.
Many within the institution agree that “Rozas had an orange card”, making a football analogy of his position before the government. And among the signs that were marking his departure is the little support he received from Minister Delgado, say police sources.
However, according to those close to Rozas, it was not so relevant for him that the head of the Interior did not publicly endorse him when he took office. The general preferred to keep the “accolade” that Piñera had given him a Sunday earlier in El Mercurio, on November 1: “I am aware that General Rozas has made all efforts to achieve compatibility between the protection of public order and citizen security. in the midst of acts of brutal violence, “said the President that time.
