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The charges brought by the Comptroller’s Office against seven generals of the High Command of the Carabineros, within the framework of a reserved summary that investigates possible administrative responsibilities in the control of public order during the social crisis, shook the institution. The notifications, made on Thursday and made public on Friday after a publication by Radio Bío-Bío, immediately prompted the government, through the Minister of the Interior, Víctor Pérez, to make a public endorsement of the institution.
On the part of the uniformed police, the reaction was similar. Today, in fact, the general director of the uniformed police, Mario Rozas, thanked the government for its support: “I have nothing more to add, only to thank the support of the government authority, to thank the support of the community, of the people. of good, all our deployment of control and prevention from October to date has been in very adverse situations ”. And that same Friday, the institution in a statement said that “the information will be provided that allows the development of the proceedings it carries out.”
At the end of the week it also emerged that both the government and the Carabineros were surprised by the notifications related to this summary. However, the beginning of this process dates back to mid-March, that is, six months ago.
In official letter No. 6142, dated March 12 of this year, the head of the Department of Armed Forces, Security, Presidency, Treasury and Foreign Relations of the Comptroller’s Office, Marcelo cordova, notified Rozas and the Carabineros Internal Audit Director of the situation. The document, which you accessed The Third PM, is entitled “Complaints for breaches of the protocol for the maintenance of public order and other matters that are indicated will be considered in the administrative summary that this supervisory entity carries out in Carabineros de Chile”.
The first paragraph of the official letter indicates that the supervisory body, as of that date, had received “11 complaints regarding the breach of the protocol for the maintenance of public order by Carabineros de Chile, the excessive use of force by the personnel of that institution, the improper use of gases or dissuasive elements, affecting even restricted or prohibited areas for such purposes and on the use of firearms against civilians, among other matters”.
As a result, the following was reported in the second paragraph: “In relation to the above, it is complied with informing that this control body has initiated an administrative summary in Carabineros de Chile destined to investigate the denounced facts and determine possible administrative responsibilities that may affect the superiors and personnel of said entity, for which the aforementioned presentations have been sent to the relevant unit, together with all the supporting information provided”.
It was the defense of three of the seven generals that yesterday, in a public statement, made strong criticisms of the role of the Comptroller in this summary. The lawyers Sergio Rodriguez, Carlos Cortes and Jorge Martinez —Lawyers for Generals Mauricio Rodríguez, Enrique Bassaletti and Enrique Monrás— described the summary as “illegal” and argued that the body “cannot enter into a pronouncement on the merit or legality of a technical decision in the use of means or personnel employed for the protection of public order ”.
Despite this, knowledgeable about the summary process assure that the Comptroller’s Office has the power to carry out this investigation, since the Carabineros is part of the State organisms that must be subject to control.
In addition, the investigators of the investigation relied on the Carabineros’ own regulations to formulate the charges. One of them is Circular No. 1832, signed by Rozas and dispatched on March 1, 2019, which contains instructions for the use of force.. In its six pages, the document addresses the legal framework, principles and the gradual and differentiated use of force as well as the use of potentially lethal weapons.
Four points are detailed in the subtitle “Principles for the use of force”. The latter refers to the principle of responsibility. “The use of force outside the parameters allowed by law, not only entails individual responsibilities for the actions and omissions incurred, but also the responsibility of the commanders called to issue orders, supervise and / or control legality, necessity and proportionality. in the exercise of this by subordinates”, States the circular.
From the Carabineros, meanwhile, they specified the following. In the opinion of the institution, “The principle of responsibility of the commanders mentioned in Circular N ° 1,832, dated 03/01/2019, refers to direct and operational commanders, that is, those who effectively participate in the planning and execution of preventive and control services. All Carabineros officers exercise commands, each with their respective attributions and responsibilities according to their grade, and not only the members of the High Command, who are assigned the strategic management of the institution.”.
However, the summary is still far from being completed. The investigation has already been closed and the charges have been notified, but now each of the seven generals needs to present their discharges. This entire process could be prolonged, because the accused could request the suspension of the terms, invoking the law that regulates pandemic judicial processes, while the constitutional state of exception lasts.
Despite this, the defense of Generals Mauricio Rodríguez, Enrique Bassaletti and Enrique Monrás yesterday stated that “we have the intimate conviction that no administrative responsibility has been incurred”. For its part, the only official statement from the Carabineros also stated that “The context of the period in question was one of extreme violence, with 8,957 events of serious disturbances of public order (…) Despite these difficulties, with Carabineros injured, barracks attacked and vehicles destroyed, our institution maintained its commitment to social peace and public order ”.
In this way, the investigation is ongoing and any sanctions proposed by the Comptroller, after receiving the discharges of the accused, will be accepted or rejected by the general director. Mario Rozas and then confirmed or rejected by the President himself Sebastian Piñera.
* This note was updated at 3:23 p.m. incorporating the Carabineros version.
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