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Government condemns attacks in Bío Bío but rules out State of Exception

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The Government condemned this Friday the serious acts of violence recorded on Thursday in the Bío Bío region but ruled out declaring a State of Exception in the area again.

Interior Minister Izkia Siches, along with Undersecretary Manuel Monsalve, met this Friday morning with the highest authorities of Carabineros and the PDI.

The meeting included the General Director of Carabineros, Ricardo Yáñez, and the Director of the Investigative Police, Sergio Muñoz.

This followed the serious acts of violence recorded in the Bío Bío region, where a large-scale attack left over 30 vehicles destroyed in Los Álamos.

Government condemned acts of violence in Bío Bío

After the meeting, the Secretary of State condemned the events during a press briefing at La Moneda.

"We want to condemn the acts of violence that have recently occurred in the Bío Bío region," stated Minister Siches.

"We have met with the highest authorities of our police forces to work together and implement various measures to address the situation of violence in our south," she added.

"We must be transparent with people in their homes that this is not a scenario with a simple or immediate solution," Siches noted.

"We have agreed on a series of measures to address the immediate situation while continuing to work on long-term solutions," she concluded.

Siches rules out State of Exception

In this regard, and in response to press inquiries, Siches ruled out declaring a State of Exception in the area again.

"We had a Constitutional State of Exception in the south for almost six months, and unfortunately, we made no progress on long-term solutions," she criticized.

"The assessment we have made together with our police forces is that there is a subjective evaluation regarding security," she stated.

Along these lines, she added, "The operational capacities that the State of Exception provides us, in our view, still leave many measures to be taken before resorting to such an option."

"We believe it neither enables nor equips local capacities, which is very significant," she questioned.

For this reason, she affirmed, "We have been strengthening and implementing measures that, in the short term, can improve preventive patrols and the response times of our police forces, which are focused on maintaining public order."

Government announces measures to address violence in the southern macrozone

On this matter, Undersecretary of the Interior Manuel Monsalve detailed a series of security measures for the area.

He stated that General Marcelo Araya, from Carabineros' Directorate of Order and Security, has been instructed to travel to the area to coordinate measures improving security conditions on the routes.

"The measures will be visible, tangible, and effective for citizens' safety," Monsalve promised.

Additionally, $5.5 billion will be allocated for equipment purchases in Bío Bío and La Araucanía, in coordination with the governors of both regions.

Furthermore, he announced measures in Public Works targeting concessioned routes, including the installation of gantries and cameras in rest areas used by truck drivers.

Specifically, repair measures will be included for drivers who are victims of violent acts.

"We believe this measure demonstrates the Government's concern for the victims, with whom we empathize," Monsalve stated.

However, these measures do not differ significantly from what the Government announced in the Senate in early April.

Source:biobiochile.cl