Arson attack in Curacautín destroys forestry machinery and reignites tension in La Araucanía

During the morning of this Wednesday, a new arson attack once again strained the security situation in the La Araucanía region. This time, the incident occurred in the commune of Curacautín, specifically in the rural sector of Santa Ema, where at least three forestry machines and a truck were completely destroyed by fire.

According to preliminary information gathered at the scene, the attack took place inside a forestry property located in a hard-to-reach area, where Public Order Control units of the Carabineros de Chile arrived after receiving an alert from workers in the sector.

By the time police personnel arrived, the flames had already consumed much of the heavy machinery, so volunteers from the Fire Department of Chile had to enter the estate to fight the fire and prevent its spread to other areas of the property.

According to information collected by field teams, the affected machines include high-tonnage forestry equipment used for timber extraction and processing operations, as well as a cargo truck that was completely incinerated.

One of the elements that marked the procedure was the discovery of a claim banner attributed to the organization Resistencia Mapuche Malleco (RMM). In the message, the authors demand the release of the so-called "Mapuche political prisoners" and make direct allusions to recent police operations carried out in the province of Malleco.

The writing also references the so-called Molino Grollmus case, a judicial case that has drawn public attention in recent years following an armed attack in the commune of Contulmo, which led to various investigative proceedings against Mapuche community members.

In the banner, police procedures carried out in recent hours in communities in the area are also questioned, describing them as part of a "media show," amid the extensive deployment of police forces recently carried out in the community of Temucuicui.

The attack recorded in Curacautín occurs less than 24 hours after another arson attack reported in the commune of Lautaro. On that occasion, unknown individuals set fire to a truck and a backhoe inside the Miraflores estate, leaving millions in material losses.

As in the incident that occurred this Wednesday, at the site of the attack in Lautaro, a claim banner was also found with references to Mapuche prisoners and judicial processes linked to attacks in the Macrozona Sur.

The string of attacks once again raises alarms for regional authorities and forestry companies operating in the area, particularly due to the resurgence of rural violence episodes recorded in recent weeks in various parts of La Araucanía.

So far, the Public Prosecutor's Office has ordered the first investigative steps