Armored Vehicles and "Red Alert" for More Troops: Government Announces Reinforcement of State of Emergency in La Araucanía

May 10, 2023 0 Comments Last News Sin tags

TheUndersecretary of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve, announced this afternoon a series of measures aimed at reinforcing the currently active measures in La Araucanía, following the violent incidents recorded in recent hours, including the attack on Republican constitutional advisor Héctor Urban and his family.

These events sparked a wave of criticism regarding the effectiveness of the state of emergency in the area, a measure that just yesterday saw its 23rd extension in Congress and marked one year since the start of President Gabriel Boric's administration.

"What happened yesterday are extremely serious events. I want to reiterate the context of what we discussed. Yesterday, people were threatened with firearms; a municipal worker, a truck driver, the shooting of the constitutional advisor—these are all events the country cannot tolerate," stated the undersecretary.

In this regard, he argued that "we understand many cannot comprehend how, despite a state of emergency, violent incidents continue to occur. But this again highlights the complexity of the challenge the Chilean State faces in ensuring peace, when there are organized groups unwilling to respect institutions and human lives, resorting to firearms to attack and, potentially, to kill."

Therefore, the undersecretary said that "we are compelled to review and strengthen all necessary measures to prevent these events from happening".

DETAILS OF THE MEASURES

First, Monsalve detailed that the Head of National Defense for the Southern Macrozone "has declared what, in terms of risk definition, is a red alert", meaning that "as a result, 50% of the troops present in the area are deployed to carry out control and inspection tasks."

Second, he stated that the Ministry of Defense, together with the Armed Forces, "today has allocated the transfer of two helicopters to the area to reinforce response capabilities in case of potential violent incidents, which means there are now three helicopters available in the zone".

He added that "we have agreed today,under the state of emergency, that it will be necessary to deploy a greater number of armored vehiclesin the area." These will be quantified and implemented "by Monday," sourced from the Army.

Monsalve also specified that "previously, and due to this situation, the Government and the Joint Chiefs of Staff had agreed to establish a forward base, which is a military base. We had already set one up in Capitán Pastene, in Lautaro, and had committed to establishing one in Curacautín—this is already being implemented (...) they are physically setting up on that site, and by Monday the 15th, we expect one-third of the capabilities to be available, allowing one-third of the military force to deploy in that area."

"There are other security measures that will be implemented, but we will not share them, precisely because they pertain to security and cannot be publicly disclosed," concluded Monsalve.

Source:www.emol.com