Chile’s Carabineros (uniformed police) confirmed Wednesday afternoon that an officer shot and killed a Mapuche during a confrontation near Angol in Region IX, an area also known as the Araucanía.

The incident occurred during the morning hours when police moved in to remove a group of Mapuches occupying an area farm. Carabineros claim the unnamed officer, who was wearing a bullet-proof vest and mask, was struck around the head by buck-shot. He responded to the attack by firing his 9mm gun, killing a yet-to-be-identified Mapuche person.

Mapuches are Chile’s largest indigenous group. Age-old tensions between Mapuches and Chilean authorities have flared up in recent weeks following the arrest last month of a high-profile indigenous leader named Héctor Llaitul Carrillanca (PT, July 19). Llaitul is reported to be the head of a radical organization called the Coordinadora Arauco Malleco, or CAM.

This is not the first time Mapuches have died at the hands of Carabineros. In January 2008 a police officer shot and killed 22-year-old university student Matías Valentín Catrileo Quezada (PT, Jan. 3, 2008). The victim was part of a group attempting to occupy a Region IX farm.

Human rights organizations like Amnesty International regularly criticize Chilean authorities for their handling of the so-called Mapuche conflict (PT, Sept. 9, 2008).

SOURCE: EMOL.COM, RADIO COOPERATIVA
By Patagonia Times Staff ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )