Kast Acknowledges Direct Order to Transfer Common Prisoners from exPunta Peuco, Challenging Official Narrative

Original article: Se cayó el relato técnico: Kast admite que ordenó sacar a reos comunes de exPunta Peuco

José Antonio Kast confirmed that he ordered the transfer of three common prisoners from the Til Til Penitentiary —formerly known as Punta Peuco— to other prisons across the country, effectively refuting the official narrative that this was a «technical decision» made by the prison service, Gendarmería, based on voluntary requests from the inmates.

In an interview with Meganoticias, the president was asked whether the measure originated from the Presidency, to which he emphatically replied: «Yes».

Thus, the far-right leader contradicted both Undersecretary of Justice Luis Silva, Undersecretary of the Interior Máximo Pavez, and Gendarmería itself, who maintained that the transfers of inmates were based on the technical criteria of the service and not a political decision.

On May 27, Gendarmería of Chile announced that it had carried out the transfer of the three common prisoners who had remained at the Til Til Penitentiary “in accordance with its institutional powers”, clarifying that the inmates “were relocated to different penitentiary facilities following their request made in writing and voluntarily”.

Subsequently, Undersecretary Silva confirmed the arguments presented by Gendarmería, insisting that “it was a technical decision or based on technical criteria, it is a decision of the service.”

“What should be reviewed is whether the contrary decision was political, that is, made by the previous administration, and now what was always the case is being respected. That is the question to ask,” he added.

In the same vein, Pavez dismissed the notion that it was a “government decision” and argued that Gendarmería has the authority to implement measures regarding penal distribution.

“In a democratic institutional regime, public agencies must adhere to the specific powers granted to them by law. In this sense, the decision to transfer inmates from one facility to another is a decision of the penitentiary authority, not a government decision,” he stated.

Kast: “Each Prison Will Serve its Intended Purpose”

However, in the interview, Kast confirmed that the decision was his own and situated it within a policy of his administration.

“We are going to organize the prisons in Chile and separate high-risk prisoners, we will apply maximum security measures, and we will reformulate the penitentiary system,” he asserted, emphasizing that the decision to transfer the inmates falls within the presidential powers.

When asked whether the prison would cease to function as a common prison as established by the previous administration of former president Gabriel Boric, Kast remarked: “Each prison will fulfill the function for which it was created,”

indicating he aims for the facility to exclusively house those convicted of crimes against humanity committed during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990), as initially designed during the administration of former president Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle.

However, both its origin and operation have been marked by exceptional conditions and allegations of preferential treatment toward the inmates.

“It was created for a purpose, president Boric had another criterion, and I will have a different criterion,” Kast stated.

In his view, “a prison is a prison” and there exists a penitentiary regime that “is established and utilized according to the criteria set by the Gendarmería administration and also the criteria that define penitentiary policy in the Presidency.”