The Gallegos | “In Chile, militarizing the fight against organized crime should be a last resort” | Bea Green | Aragua Train | Gabriel Boric | the world

Chile In recent years, it has experienced an increase in violent crime, hand-in-hand with the influx of international organized crime gangs into the country, such as the Venezuelan-born Tren de Aragua; Los Trinitarios, developed in New York, or Los Pulpos from Peru. Between 2014 and 2023, murders in the country increased by 60%, rapes by 46% and robberies by violence or intimidation by 11%, according to statistics from the Center for Crime Studies and Analysis, which relies on the Undersecretariat for Crime Prevention.

At the judicial level, the country is awaiting the start of a mega trial against 38 members of the criminal gang. GalicianDeputy Train from Aragua, for a series of crimes including murder, kidnapping, human trafficking, sexual exploitation, extortion, arms and drug trafficking. It is the most complex criminal process in the country in recent years due to the high level of risk of 34 Venezuelans and four Chileans.

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Trade He also talked about crime in Chile Bea GreenResearcher at the Center for the Study of Public Safety and Organized Crime at the University of San Sebastian.

– What is the authorities' strategy to deal with transnational crime, these gangs that come up with new criminal methods and commit high-impact crimes?

In Chile The phenomenon of crime has undergone a very significant change in recent years. It was more marked after the epidemic. Chile went from being a country of crimes against property to a country where violent crimes against people often occur.. Although property crimes are still high at 80% today, they have declined. The type of crime has also increased. There are crimes that we don't know about yet Chile. There is a new way in which crimes are committed. For example, The murder had previously occurred between people who knew each other in the private world And it was usually conducted with a knife. Today these crimes happen on public roads, by random unknown people, which tells you that it is closer to a murderer or contract killing, and they happen with guns. So, how these violent crimes are treated means that we are dealing with a phenomenon criminal More complicated, it costs more to solve, and it creates more fear among people. Today 90% of the population is afraid, which means that 9 out of 10 Chileans are so afraid that they have changed the dynamics of their daily life, their habits.

So, things have been done to counter this phenomenon. However, they don't have enough urgency or focus to adequately address it. He Criminal event It changed so quickly that the authorities, society, could never keep up. Thus, everything we have learned in recent years about investigation, control, harassment or deterrence has become obsolete in the face of this new type of crime. There were good strategies. For example, the Public Ministry has established a special Organized Crime Investigation Team called ECOH, which focuses on this type of crime to identify certain characteristics and investigate it better, which has already achieved good results. The Office of the Supreme Land Prosecutor has just been approved, which is much needed. Chile has a prosecutor's office for each of the 15 regionsAnd it's more complicated because research is often repeated or information isn't shared.

– What is being left out that would be useful in fighting crime?

For example, the violence-free street program was implemented, with more police on the streets, but what is happening with it? Common crimes are fought with heavy police protection, butOrganized crime is fought through intelligenceAnd that's one of the things we miss Chile. Through investigation we can understand the culprit x-rays, understand the ways they work and anticipate events. Intelligence is the only way to tackle organized crime. Our intelligence system does not have the fit, budget, manpower or capacity to operate it. There is no proper coordination between various intelligence agencies like the Armed Forces, Police, Ministry of Home Affairs, National Intelligence Agency, Gendarmerie etc.

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Another issue that seems important to me is prisons. In Chile we urgently need a comprehensive prison policy, not only do we create more prisons because of overcrowding, but we also demand that inmates be segregated according to their crimes. The criminogenic contagion in Chilean prisons is powerful. so, When a person comes up for petty crimes, they have no choice but to escalate to defend themselves. Or, as was the case, can be owned Trinitarians In New York, he met in a prison and became a very powerful organized crime group that reached Chile, more firepower and more violence. We must seek new rehabilitation and reintegration programs tailored to each prisoner's criminal conviction. Not all crimes deserve to go to jail, there are people who can serve the sentence freely, I don't mean people should stay out of jail by that, there are alternatives and they should be used. No real prison reform was undertaken. Today, prisons have turned from universities of crime to headquarters of organized crime.

Another important issue is that the front page. I don't want to say that immigration is in any way related to crime, however, if you have irregular and illegal immigration because of border infiltration, it causes many people to enter illegally. Even though 99% of people are good, they come looking for new opportunities and there are those who don't come with good intentions. And In essence a transnational organized crime enters the country with new crimes. Recently it has been restricted by allowing the military on the border and this has reduced illegal immigration and that is very good news.

– How is state action expressed in criminal matters? Are the police, prosecutors and judges doing their best to punish those responsible for crime?

We have a poor approach to organized crime because Our internal entities are not consolidated I believe this is the case in other Latin American countries, in terms of information provision and analysis. The lack of operational coordination, the lack of coordination between the prosecutor's office, the inability to look at this phenomenon globally, because organized crime crosses borders, so we have to be careful about how it works. Other countries should join forces with other countries to attack it here. That way, in the work of the police, prosecutor's office and judges Chile We have made progress, but in general there is a lack of organization within institutions to combat organized crime and crime. It requires a pronunciation that is very difficult to achieve. The US achieved that after the 9/11 attacks, and many other countries have since lagged behind in this regard.

– What do you think about what is happening in Ecuador, where the military is going to have police operations in the fight against crime, will this happen at some point in Chile?

Los Military On the street it is always a measure that can be evaluated; However, I think the militarization of crime is bad for several reasons. First, we have similar experiences in Latin America Mexico, it doesn't work and finally the army enters a very dangerous circle of corruption or violence. so, When you militarize crime, violence increases. In the case of Chile, the military is trained for war, and this represents an enemy that you must disband or kill. On the other hand, law enforcement and security forces have to reduce criminals. A limited use of force is when a soldier armed, training the enemy, wearing a combat uniform and with a war-minded attitude acts against a criminal, despite the rules. Let's imagine a soldier controlling people's identity, suddenly someone doesn't want to control their identity, or worse, a soldier sees a crime in felony delicto, often he acts as a soldier, and in that sense it is very dangerous. Increase force and weapons A person can take his weapon and create great violence. The second thing that seems more appropriate to me is that it should be a measure of last resort., what are you going to do after that? What if it doesn't work for you? The cycle of violence continues. Finally, and most important in this issue, what happens to fear is that if you remove the military, fear will increase among the citizens. therefore, Militarizing crime is not a good option for me., which can always be evaluated, but only in specific cases such as boundary maintenance. If you're going to put soldiers on the street, you need to define well what they're going to do, how they're going to act, how they're going to be judged if they do poorly, and what the rules are to be used. The power they use and everything that exists today Chile The product is not there.