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The Details of the Attack for Which Ernesto Llaitul, Heir to the CAM Leader, Was Acquitted

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• Seven days after the capture of the CAM leader in 2022, the PDI arrested his son, Ernesto Llaitul, for his alleged involvement in an arson attack that occurred in 2021 in Los Ángeles.

On August 31, 2022, one week after the leader of the Arauco Malleco Coordinator (CAM), Héctor Llaitul Carrillanca, 56, was arrested in Cañete, his son Ernesto Llaitul Pezoa, 28, was apprehended by the Investigative Police (PDI) in Tirúa, dealing another blow to the oldest radical group in southern Chile.

The Biobío regional prosecutor Marcela Cartagena stated at the time that the arrests were for "a completed arson attack and two counts of attempted homicide" carried out on September 9, 2021, in the commune of Los Ángeles.

The website Werkén Noticias, which often publishes content linked to the radical group, reported that "the weychafe (combatant) Mapuche Ernesto Llaitul and two other peñis (brothers) were violently detained in the Tirúa area."

Ernesto Llaitul had gained public notoriety on July 9, 2021, when it was mistakenly reported that he had died during an arson attack in Carahue, La Araucanía, on an estate under police protection.

The one who died that night was former anthropology student at the University of Concepción Pablo Marchant Gutiérrez, nicknamed Toño, who left the faculty, joined an operational wing of the CAM, and lived in the same house as Ernesto and Héctor Llaitul.

Divided Ruling

This Tuesday, in a divided ruling, the Oral Criminal Trial Court of Los Ángeles acquitted him and three other defendants of charges related to the completed arson of one truck, attempted arson of another, and attempted homicide of the drivers of two vehicles. It also acquitted one defendant accused of being an accomplice to arson.

The court determined that the evidence presented by the prosecution failed to prove the defendants' involvement and ordered their release. The first trial, in which Ernesto Llaitul was sentenced to 15 years in prison, had been annulled.
His acquittal gained significance given his father's 23-year prison sentence—handed down in May—which would see him released at age 77 if he serves his full term in prison.

Due to his influence in the radical group, Ernesto Llaitul is described as the heir to the CAM, an organization that has lost prominence among autonomist groups in the south following Héctor Llaitul's exit from the scene.

The case for which Ernesto Llaitul was arrested. At 4 a.m. on September 9, 2021, a second sergeant from the Biobío Prefecture of Carabineros received a radio call from the Carabineros Communications Center, requesting assistance for an alleged arson attack at the Punta Arenas forestry estate, located at kilometer 16 of Camino Paraguay.

Upon arrival, they interviewed three truck drivers from contracting companies who were staying overnight there. They recounted how they experienced the attack carried out by five or six armed, hooded individuals.

The first driver stated that he was sleeping in a white 2013 Mercedes Benz truck when a short, thin man opened the driver's door and pointed what he believed was a revolver at him. He estimated it was around 3:30 a.m. A second man, also thin but taller, pointed a shotgun at him and shouted, "Get out, you motherfucker, get out of the truck."

The driver got out and ran into the woods while hearing several gunshots. He said he did not know if they were warning shots. At one point while running, he looked back and saw the two men—he could not recall their clothing—spraying the cabin with fuel. He saw it catch fire.

The second driver recounted that around 3:30 a.m., while sleeping in a white 2014 Mercedes Benz truck, he heard voices behind the truck that woke him. Then a man began banging on the driver's door and ordered him to get out.
He refused, and the man pointed what seemed like a small pistol at him. The man fired, shattering the door window.

Then about five hooded individuals, dressed in dark clothing, began throwing fuel from a bottle into the cabin. The driver said he grabbed the bottle with his left hand and threw it at one of them, splashing fuel on his chest.

In doing so, he cut his hand, leaving a bloodstain in the truck. He then started the engine and accelerated. As he drove away, he saw the other truck burning.

The third driver told police he was sleeping in a green 2015 Mercedes Benz truck when he heard banging on the driver's door. Looking out the window, he saw three thin, medium-height hooded men insulting him to get out.

He started the engine, shifted into first gear, and accelerated. He heard a shot hit the door, shattering the window, and then another shot straight ahead, cracking the windshield. He managed to escape.

Territorial Resistance

The attack was claimed by the Toño Marchant Territorial Resistance Organ (ORT), which had already taken responsibility for burning trucks in Quilleco, also in Biobío, on August 20, 2021. It had been named in memory of Pablo Marchant.

His role in the CAM. Ernesto Lincoyam Llaitul Pezoa is considered by police to be one of the most influential combatants in the CAM's armed wings, known as ORTs.

His importance in the organization was described by Héctor Llaitul himself in a call intercepted by the PDI at 10:28 p.m. on July 9, 2021, when he believed his son had died in the Carahue attack.

"The bravest, pos lamien (sister). The most committed. The strongest. The one with the most conviction. His strength must remain with us, pos lamien," Héctor Llaitul said.

Ernesto Llaitul was falsely accused in 2017 of criminal association as part of Operation Hurricane, which turned out to be a setup by Carabineros. He was later dismissed from the case.

The false death of Ernesto Llaitul. On July 9, 2021, Pablo Marchant was shot by police while attacking an estate under Carabineros protection, at a distance of two to three meters, concluded a report by the Legal Medical Service. Llaitul has relied on a private expert's report to argue it was an execution.

Initially, incorrect reports circulated that Ernesto Llaitul had died, prompting then-Congressman Gabriel Boric, now President, to react on social media.

"They have murdered Ernesto Llaitul. This situation is extremely serious, and our outrage is overwhelming but not paralyzing. We stand with the family and communities, offering our solidarity. No more militarization! We will not allow impunity," he posted on Twitter on July 9, 2021.

The next day, he corrected the identity of the deceased on the same platform: "Héctor Llaitul confirms it was not his son Ernesto who died but Pablo Marchant. The confusion arose due to facial disfigurement and erroneous reports from Carabineros. In any case, it is serious. Forestry companies are now part of the problem in Wallmapu."

Source:Ex-Ante