Chili arrested 11 members of a group mapuche accused of numerous arson attacks against businesses and homes in the south-central area of the country, a boost for a government that has been accused of being soft on crime.
Among the members of the Mapuche Lafkenche Resistance There was a retired police officer and another on active duty.
The Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá, praised the security forces for the arrests and highlighted the Government’s support for their work, according to a publication on social networks. “We will continue working along these lines,” he stated.
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The conflict has its origins in the violent seizure of mapuche lands at the end of the 19th century, when the Government transferred land to Chilean and European settlers. Since the 1990s, various Mapuche groups have resorted to violence to recover those lands. However, the current government’s support for their cause has been undermined by the refusal of some groups to negotiate and continued attacks on the local forestry industry.
President Gabriel Boric He had promised to improve conditions and accelerate land restitution to the Mapuche as part of his election campaign. However, shortly after assuming command, the then Minister of the Interior was met with gunfire on her first visit to the area. The intensity of the attacks increased and forced Boric to extend the state of emergency in the region, allowing the Army to intervene.
Translated by Paulina Munita.
