Mapuche Activists Demand Release of Political Prisoners

Clashes erupted in Santiago on Tuesday after around 200 Mapuche activists took the streets demanding the release of political prisoners and a stop to the repression of the national minority.

The march began peacefully, but by the evening scuffles erupted between riot police and activists. Police deployed water cannons to disperse the protesters and detained several of them.

The spiritual leader of the movement Francisca Linconao is accused of arson which led to the death of two wealthy landlords in 2013. The protesters claim her detention is part of a plan to criminalize the fight of the Mapuche for their ancestral lands.

Around 650,000 of Chile's 17 million people belong to the country's largest indigenous group, the Mapuche, who have long demanded autonomy from Santiago.