• Live
    • Audio Only
  • google plus
  • facebook
  • twitter
News > Latin America

Chile Admits Cover-up of Police Killing Video of Mapuche Leader

  • Since the murder of the Indigenous man, thousands of people have taken to the streets in various parts of the country to protest the death and persecution of Indigenous community in the country.

    Since the murder of the Indigenous man, thousands of people have taken to the streets in various parts of the country to protest the death and persecution of Indigenous community in the country. | Photo: @PaoladrateleSUR

Published 18 November 2018
Opinion

In reaction to the murder of Catrillanca, various human rights organizations have called on the Chilean government to investigate and punish those responsible for the murder.

Chile's Interior Minister Andres Chadwick admitted Sunday that the officers responsible for the killing of the young Mapuche activist Camilo Catrillanca destroyed the cameras they were carrying during the clash, days after the military police affirmed that the officers were not carrying any. 

RELATED:
Mapuche Nation Gathers for Funeral of Slain Indigenous Man

The ministry added that four police officials were removed from their functions as a result of the revelations, including the police chief in the Araucania region Mauro Victoriano and Iván Contreras, prefect of Special Forces. They will be probed by the Araucania's prosecutors, a decision that the relatives of the victim criticized, saying that it would not involve officers of higher command.

Camilo was killed in the middle of a police operation in the community of Temucuicui, Ercilla, in La Araucania region. Chilean police entered the area firing indiscriminately against the Mapuche community during the evening of Nov. 14.

Around 200 police entered the area leaving five people injured. Catrillanca, the grandson of the Lonko (community leader) Juan Catrillanca, was shot in the back of the head. He was later taken to a health center where he died.

In reaction to the murder of Catrillanca, various human rights organizations have called on the Chilean government to investigate and punish those responsible for the murder. They also called for an end to anti-terror laws in Mapuche territories and the removal of militarized police from areas inhabited by the Indigenous population. 

Comment
0
Comments
Post with no comments.