The formalization process began this week against the recently deposed head of Carabineros, Ricardo Yáñez, who in 2019 led the Department of Order and Security, as well as against Mario Rozas, who was the head of the institution at the time, and former deputy director Diego Olate, all of whom the High Complexity Prosecutor, Ximena Chong, holds responsible for the crime of omission of unlawful coercion resulting in serious injuries and homicides.

Although it was initially expected that the accused would face charges for 1,386 cases, Chong decided to focus on 228, in which the victims were injured with riot weapons such as shotguns and grenade launchers, causing serious injuries or death because the Carabineros used less-than-lethal weapons without keeping a safe shooting distance, which violates the rules on the use of force and the operations manual for the control of public order. She also stated that the accused did not comply with the control and regulation of the use of weapons and ammunition, nor with the fulfillment of human rights and the duty of vigilance. “There was abusive use of these tools and there was a lack of supervision,” she added.

Among the events mentioned was that of Senator Fabiola Campillai, who lost her sense of sight, smell and taste due to a tear gas grenade launched by a member of the Carabineros.

Chong cited reports from the UN mission and organizations in Geneva, according to which two months after the start of the protests, 13,046 persons were treated in emergency services, of whom, 641 were hospitalized and 50 were in critical condition.

The National Network of Survivors of the Social Outbreak described the filing of charges as a historic milestone in Chile and Latin America and a significant step towards justice and against impunity.

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