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A school attended by 21 students, an ambulance, a neighborhood association headquarters, and the only local health post. Everything was destroyed after the arson attack recorded on Wednesday in the commune of Traiguén, La Araucanía Region.

 

While fleeing the scene, the criminals fired shots, leaving a barn at the Santa Elvira estate with two bullet impacts. They also left a banner referencing the Mapuche cause, bearing the signature of the Mapuche Malleco Resistance (RMM).

Since the assailants attacked the local health post, a paramedic attempted to fight the fire and was injured. The victim is Daniel Torres, who had worked there for 30 years and whose home was adjacent to the targeted health post. He lost both his vehicles, his house, and his pets due to the attack.

That’s why, upon noticing what was happening, he got up thinking it involved patients, but everything turned chaotic after a Molotov cocktail hit him, causing first-degree burns on his forehead, face, part of his ear, and neck.

"I open the door and see the main area, the entrance, on fire. I go back inside and start looking through the window when I see hooded figures dressed in dark clothing throwing Molotov cocktails," Torres told 24 Horas. He added that the assailants "also shot at me, firing toward the health post and inside the residential area of the house."

 

Although the paramedic says the physical impact of his burns wasn’t too severe, "emotionally... sometimes I remember and freeze up a bit." Still, Torres reflected, "What you lose most here is a sense of security—how do I face life moving forward? What do I hold onto today to say, 'Alright, thank you, I’ll walk calmly in my workplace' (...) What are we waiting for, for another person in the area to die?"

 

On Wednesday, Interior Minister Carolina Tohá stated, "It is undoubtedly a criminal attack, but I believe it has terrorist characteristics, even under current legislation." However, the Government did not invoke the Anti-Terrorism Law when filing the lawsuit over the incident, drawing sharp criticism.

The legal action filed by the Presidential Delegation of La Araucanía points to the crimes of arson, illegal possession of firearms, unjustified shootings, and criminal association. The agency stated it would invoke "any other unlawful acts that may arise from the facts described in this lawsuit and that are determined during the investigation carried out by the Public Prosecutor's Office."

 

Yesterday, when asked about the apparent contradiction, Minister Tohá explained, "The attacks in Traiguén, given the type of targets chosen and the intensity of their simultaneity, seem to us of the utmost concern, and we condemn them entirely. We will pursue them with the best tools provided by the legal framework."

 

"That’s why we’ve prioritized a different type of lawsuit, knowing from experience that we’ll achieve better results in criminal prosecution if we use the arms control law, if we pursue charges for arson and explosive devices, rather than invoking the anti-terrorism legislation—which we are also working to redefine precisely because of its shortcomings," she clarified.


Source:www.emol.com