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Llaitul's Arrest Sparked Reactions Across All Political Sectors

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Opposition and ruling coalition lawmakers commented on the arrest of the leader of the Arauco-Malleco Coordinator (CAM), Héctor Llaitul, carried out by the PDI (Investigative Police) today in the commune of Cañete, in the Biobío Region.

The news broke just as leaders from political parties of both sides were meeting with Minister Izkia Siches at La Moneda to coordinate measures ahead of the plebiscite.

"Mr. Llaitul should have been imprisoned more than two years ago," said the president of the Republican Party, Rojo Edwards, after the meeting.

"It will be up to the courts to rule on the merit (of the accusations)," stated the general secretary of the Communist Party, Lautaro Carmona.

The general secretary of the Socialist Party (PS), Camilo Escalona, urged against "seeking small political gains" from this police operation, which he emphasized originated from the Judiciary: "It would be absurd for us to try to assign a specific outcome (a predetermined effect) for September 4."

"I appreciate and commend the work of the Prosecutor's Office and the police in achieving the arrest of Héctor Llaitul," said independent senator from Temuco, Carmen Gloria Aravena (Evópoli), noting that the CAM leader's arrest "reinforces how important it would have been, in this context, to enact the critical infrastructure law rejected by the Chamber of Deputies."

Meanwhile, UDI deputy for La Araucanía Henry Leal claimed that Llaitul's arrest "caught the Government by surprise." This came after Interior Minister Izkia Siches, when asked whether La Moneda would request preventive detention for the CAM leader, merely stated that "we will request precautionary measures according to the crimes analyzed by the legal teams."

"The Government is not interested in this issue and was taken by surprise. We regret that they are not acting firmly and that the minister did not say they would seek preventive detention for this individual. That shows a lack of conviction, because they are not concerned about this issue—they are only focused on the September 4 plebiscite," Leal pointed out.

BUSINESS GROUPS HIGHLIGHTED PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE WORK

The president of the Chilean Wood Corporation, Juan José Ugarte, emphasized that "the Prosecutor's Office and the police have done their job" and stated that, in this context, "now the courts must act." "Justice is slow but arrives," he noted.

René Muñoz, manager of the Association of Forestry Contractors, said he hopes "the evidence gathered by the Prosecutor's Office in this case will be sufficient for the rule of law to function today in the southern macrozone."

CNTC REITERATED CALL FOR EXTENSION OF STATE OF EXCEPTION IN LOS RÍOS AND THE NORTH

From the National Confederation of Freight Transport, its president, Sergio Pérez, highlighted the event in relation to "the necessary goal of dismantling organized crime in that part of the country."

"We insist that it would be very reassuring if the Government also extended the State of Exception to Los Ríos and the northern regions severely affected by violence," since "it is the Executive's responsibility to guarantee the country's security and supply," he stated.

Source:cooperativa.cl