New video complicates Carabineros s version …

In the last few hours a new video linked to the murder of juggler Francisco Martínez, in Panguipulli (Chile), who complicates the version of the Carabineros who claim to have shot the young man “in self-defense”. The footage sparked a wave of protests that included the burning of state buildings and police stations.

According to Chilean radio Bío Bío, the video corresponds to a gas station security camera located in front of the place where the events occurred. These images, which capture what happened from a new angle, show how a second policeman shoots the street performer when he was already immobilized and injured on the ground.

The young man’s death came as part of a “preventive identity check,” a controversial mechanism approved in 2019 that allows uniformed officers to screen anyone without any justification. Depending on the Carabineros version, an institution which in recent years has been implicated in a cataract of complaints of human rights abuses and violations, the shootings against Martínez have been “in self-defense”.

Fact is investigated as murder and one of the men in uniform who fired – whose identity has remained confidential – continued his preventive detention on Monday. It is expected that in the next few hours he will be brought before a judge to formally inform him of the charge.

While the agitation over this new act of police violence persists, the Chilean President, Sebastian piñera, mourned the death of the young man but supported police action and he declared that the Carabineros “are a fundamental institution and constitute the first line of defense of public order, citizen security, the rule of law and democracy”.

The force, continued Piñera, “has 60,000 men and women who wake up every day carrying out a commitment (…) risking their own lives several times, as evidenced by the thousands of martyrs at their disposal”. Reactions to the president’s statements immediately translated into severe criticism on social networks, under the #FueronLosPacos tag.

For its part, Under Secretary of the Interior of Chile, Juan Francisco Galli, called “do not speculate” and indicated that the authorities have “the conviction that here, rather than continuing to speculate on the videos or the images likely to appear on the social networks, we must await the investigation carried out by the prosecution”.

“Carabineros only use their firearms as a last resort when faced with a threat to their physical integrity or their life, or that of a third party. And, therefore, what must be determined here is that is whether these circumstances are consistent in this case “. Galli added.

In this sense, he pointed out that “the judicial truth is formed on the basis of all the antecedents that are related to the investigation”, for which he considered that “to give an opinion, and especially of the Government, with information partial – because I do not have all the information contained in the investigation file – that could be embarrassing. “

According to the prosecutor in charge of the case, Marcelo Leal, the monitoring hearing did not yet have all the information necessary to formalize the investigation, including the autopsy report.

Repercussion

Following the murder of the juggler, a wave of protests erupted in the country, including attacks on police stations in several towns, clashes with the police and the burning of a dozen public buildings in Panguipulli.

In the meantime, the young man’s body was transferred this Sunday from his home to the El Prado cemetery in the capital. The process was escorted by riflemen, who were at the scene with law enforcement personnel and with fire hydrants and gas launchers.

Meanwhile, the organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Sunday that “Chile must move forward urgently with a serious and rigorous reform of the riflemen”. “Police can’t kill someone because they resist an identity check“This is why” a full and rapid investigation into these serious events is urgently needed, “HRW Americas director, José Miguel Vivanco, of Chile said on Twitter.