After Huenchullan's capture, violent group RMM is left "without leadership"

The use of drones "has been relevant" for the entry of State institutions into the Temucuicui community, confirmed by the Public Prosecutor's Office, after yesterday at 2:00 a.m. the third operation in two weeks was carried out in that Mapuche territorial organization, and its werkén (spokesperson), Jorge Huenchullan Cayul, and his partner, Carolina Padilla Manquel, were arrested inside their home.

In this procedure, which involved the PDI, Carabineros, the Army, and the FACh, there were no injuries and no shots were fired, according to the authorities. Ground troops extracted them from the area in a military helicopter.

"We continue to advance (...) to restore order and the Rule of Law (...). After five years as a fugitive, the time has come for him to appear before justice," highlighted President José Antonio Kast.

The Temucuicui community referred to Huenchullan's arrest —formalized for drug trafficking, illegal possession of weapons and ammunition, and usurpation— in a statement broadcast through Radio Kurruf, which reported that there was a decision to surrender without offering resistance.

"It was he who chose not to continue avoiding his arrest, precisely upon observing the disproportionate police and military deployment," the note states. It adds that "understanding the enormous risk that a tense situation could generate for the families of the community (...) the werkén made the decision not to expose his surroundings to an outcome that could endanger human lives."

After his capture, Huenchullan and Padilla were taken to the PDI station in Angol. The control of the community member's detention —who faces 18 years in prison, according to the prosecutor's office— was carried out remotely by the Collipulli Guarantee Court. It was ordered that he begin serving his pretrial detention in the Angol prison.

Padilla was also formally charged remotely, for drug trafficking and illegal possession of weapons and ammunition. Likewise, the highest precautionary measure was imposed, and two months were set to investigate her case.

It was necessary to "adjust the strategy"

The regional prosecutor of La Araucanía, Roberto Garrido, acknowledged that "this is an arrest procedure that had already been attempted on other occasions and had failed."

Based on those failed experiences, he said they opted to "adjust the strategy and also use technological elements that allow us to have greater certainty regarding the presence of a person in a specific location."

Since going into hiding in 2021, Huenchullan remained one of the most wanted individuals in the Southern Macrozone for his alleged involvement in crimes and for being considered the leader of Resistencia Mapuche Malleco (RMM), a criminal group operating in the province of Malleco that claims responsibility for most of the arson attacks against machinery and trucks, demanding the release of prisoners linked to Temucuicui.

Regarding the link between Temucuicui and the RMM, the former regional prosecutor of La Araucanía and current presidential delegate, Francisco Ljubetic, stated that "the evidence indicates that this organization operates fundamentally in that area" and that "the detainee and other individuals have directly or indirectly declared their connection to it."

Since going into hiding in 2021, Huenchullan remained one of the most wanted individuals in the Southern Macrozone for his alleged involvement in crimes and for being considered the leader of Resistencia Mapuche Malleco (RMM), a criminal group operating in the province of Malleco that claims responsibility for most of the arson attacks against machinery and trucks, demanding the release of prisoners linked to Temucuicui.

Regarding the link between Temucuicui and the RMM, the former regional prosecutor of La Araucanía and current presidential delegate, Francisco Ljubetic, stated that "the evidence indicates that this organization operates fundamentally in that area" and that "the detainee and other individuals have directly or indirectly declared their connection to it." Regarding whether Huenchullan was the target of the three operations in the last two weeks in Temucuicui, he stated that "in his particular case, this target was identified and located."

Francisco Vidal, former minister in various periods of the Concertación and president of TVN's board during Gabriel Boric's administration, commented on Radio Infinita that, "I would have loved for my government to have done what this government did. Instead of one helicopter, three helicopters (...). It can be done, if there is determination and traumas are overcome."

Former security coordinator of the Southern Macrozone Pablo Urquizar highlighted that "Huenchullan, the ringleader of the RMM, one of the most dangerous organizations in the Southern Macrozone, has been arrested; this is achieved after more than four years in which he managed to evade the Rule of Law; his capture materializes in an impeccable and singular operation, unique and exclusive in its way of proceeding, with the participation of the police, the Armed Forces, and the Public Prosecutor's Office, and it ensures that citizens begin to perceive that there is no place in the Southern Macrozone that the State cannot control."

The current coordinator of the Organized Crime and Terrorism Observatory (Ocrit) at Universidad Andrés Bello added that "he was the most wanted fugitive in the Southern Macrozone," and that his arrest "leaves the RMM group without leadership, since under him there are members who make up a horizontal organization, where he was the only head."

Source:El Mercurio