"Fire with Terrorist Nature": Government Files First Lawsuit for Attack in La Araucanía and Requests Procedures to Locate Perpetrators

"On April 16, 2026, at approximately 20:00 hours, at kilometer 15.5 of Route R-49 (a strategic transit route for the area), an armed and organized group carried out an ambush with the objective of instilling fear in the civilian population."

This is how the first lawsuit filed by the current Government begins, invoking the Anti-Terrorist Law, for an incendiary attack that occurred in La Araucanía, specifically in Collipulli, last Thursday. The action is for the crimes of fire with a terrorist nature and illegal possession of weapons, and is directed against all those found responsible for these or other illicit acts.

Regarding the events, the criminal action describes that, "while the victims were traveling in their private vehicle eastbound, they were intercepted by a green-colored pickup truck from which at least three subjects with covered faces descended. The attackers, acting in a coordinated manner and equipped with high firepower, violently intimidated the occupants and forced them to exit the vehicle."

In this regard, the Ministry of Security maintains that, "once the victims were defenseless, and without any intention of stealing the vehicle or personal belongings, the subjects proceeded to execute an act of symbolic violence and destruction: they threw incendiary devices inside the car, causing a fire that consumed the entire asset."

Regarding charging the crime of fire with a terrorist nature, the Government states that it is justified due to "the manner in which the events were committed, that is, the use of firearms, the fire set in front of the victims and without theft of the vehicle, evidence that the target is not the asset (vehicle), but the message: anyone traveling on that road is exposed to being subjected by force."

Locate Vehicle of Those Responsible

In the same lawsuit, the ministry requests various procedures, such as instructing the Investigative Police (PDI) to take statements from victims and possible witnesses; as well as from the Carabineros officials who participated in the procedure following the event, and also the collection of footage from cameras and possible images.

Along with this, it requests "to determine whether the events that are the subject of this case are linked to any terrorist organization or cause active in the area."

Regarding the Carabineros Labocar and Gope, the Ministry of Security requests an "expert report on the nature of the elements found at the scene and/or provided by witnesses or the complainant, type of incendiary devices, and everything that proves relevant."

Simultaneously, it considers it necessary to process a judicial authorization and to require the telephone companies Entel, Claro, Movistar, WOM, VTR, and Virgin Mobile to "indicate which are the cells of

the antennas that under normal or extraordinary circumstances maintain coverage or provide signal for data or calls at the coordinates corresponding to the site of the incident and nearby sectors on Route R-49 related to the events that occurred on April 16, 2026 and, once determined, submit the voice traffic, messaging data and their respective azimuth for the days and time periods related to the events."

It adds that it is relevant to request the court to authorize "overflight with unmanned aircraft (drones) inside radical communities near the site of the incident with the purpose of being able to locate the vehicle that participated in the illicit events that occurred."

Source: El Mercurio