Chilean police report 29 detentions at anniversary march
Police reported 29 detentions after Santiago’s October 18 march marking seven years since Chile’s social uprising. Metropolitan police chief Manuel Cifuentes said the procession began peacefully before a hooded group attacked officers. His account included alleged incendiary offences, robbery and damage to security cameras. The tally remained preliminary as operations continued; the allegations do not establish guilt.
Geopolitics··Midday
Police give a provisional account
Chilean police reported a preliminary 29 detentions after the October 18 anniversary march in Santiago.[1], [2]
Chilean police reported 29 detentions after the October 18 march in Santiago marking seven years since the country’s social uprising. Metropolitan police chief General Inspector Manuel Cifuentes Quezada estimated participation at between 2,500 and 2,800 people. Demonstrators gathered at Plaza Baquedano and walked west along Avenida Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins, better known as the Alameda. Cifuentes said preventive police duties had begun in the morning, before the procession moved off. He described its beginning as peaceful. The announced detention figure covered different alleged offences and remained provisional because officers were still operating in several parts of the capital as the day continued.[1]
Account of attacks comes from police
According to Cifuentes, a hooded group later moved to the front of the procession and attacked officers with solid objects and petrol bombs. He described one detention for alleged possession and use of an incendiary device against police. Other cases involved an alleged violent robbery at a commercial premises and alleged damage to public security cameras on the Alameda. These accounts identify the accusations for which people were detained; they do not establish convictions. The police chief’s description of how violence began also remains an attributed account. His explanation distinguishes the peaceful opening of the march from the later incidents he blamed on that group.[1]
Operations continue as injuries are assessed
Cifuentes confirmed that officers had been injured, including one with a facial injury after a pyrotechnic device exploded. A definitive injury total was not yet available: some personnel remained on duty and had not attended the Carabineros hospital. Police said preventive operations would continue during the afternoon and evening, both in central Santiago and in outlying districts. They planned additional monitoring in places affected by disorder during earlier commemorations. The police chief said people could demonstrate peacefully and without weapons, and that the force would protect that right under its protocols. He also said officers would intervene over attacks on personnel, third parties or property.[1]
