Original article: Ley antiencapuchados: Cámara aprobó proyecto que aumenta penas a quienes «cometan delitos contra el orden público» utilizando capuchas

Anti-Hood Law: Congress Approves Stricter Penalties for Public Disorder Crimes Committed Concealing Identity

With a significant vote tally of 100 in favor, 36 against, and 2 abstentions, the Chamber of Deputies has successfully passed the initial phase of a bill designed to impose harsher penalties on individuals committing crimes while hiding their identity (bill 18211).

The proposed legislation has now been sent to the Senate and focuses on penalizing actions where offenders obscure their identity using methods that hinder identification, thus facilitating their potential impunity, according to the Chamber’s bulletin.

To achieve this, the report adds that the «anti-hood law» increases the penalty by one degree for those committing public order crimes while using hoods, masks, or other items intended to obstruct or delay their identification, provided this is done with the aim of securing impunity.

This means that under this law, a sentence of up to 540 days in prison could be escalated to a range of 541 days to 3 years, or a sentence of up to 3 years could increase to between 3 years and one day and 5 years, depending on the committed crime.

Another important aspect of this initiative is the establishment of a «harsher» penalty for the crime of looting when committed by individuals in hoods. In such cases, the proposal mandates that courts «must impose the maximum penalty prescribed» for this offense.

Finally, the text suggests incorporating a new aggravating circumstance into the Penal Code: «It will be deemed particularly reprehensible to commit a crime while covering the face or otherwise concealing one’s identity to evade justice,» an aggravation that courts can consider when determining the penalty.

We will continue to provide updates.