WhatsApp Chats Challenge Chadwick’s Claims: Evidence of Witness Preparation in LAN Bribery Case

Original article: Chats contradicen a Chadwick: preparó testigos junto a Hermosilla en causa por coimas de LAN que amenazaba la candidatura de Piñera

Andrés Chadwick claimed before the prosecutor’s office in March 2025 that during 2017 he was distanced from the judicial dealings of his then-partner, Luis Hermosilla, as he was focused on the presidential campaign of his cousin Sebastián Piñera. However, a series of recent WhatsApp exchanges included in the investigation against former prosecutor Manuel Guerra reveal a starkly different reality: the former Minister of the Interior was not only aware of the defense of Ignacio Cueto, manager of LAN, but also actively participated in witness preparation and coordinated calls with the prosecutor responsible for the case.

The investigation into the airline’s bribery payments in Argentina posed a significant threat to Piñera’s second presidential campaign. In 2017, as the former president sought to return to La Moneda, the judiciary had reopened the investigation into the bribes paid between 2006 and 2007, a period when Piñera was the controlling shareholder and director of LAN. The main accused was Ignacio Cueto, a long-time general manager and personal friend of the candidate, placing the closest circle of the campaign on high alert.

It was in this context of heightened political tension that the duo formed by Chadwick and Hermosilla took on a prominent role. The chats, as reconstructed by Reportea.cl, demonstrate that they did not limit themselves to mere advisory roles, but directly intervened in the judicial strategy. Conversations reveal that they coordinated a call with prosecutor Andrés Montes, who currently serves as head of the investigative unit of the Commission for the Financial Market (CMF), and managed meetings to prepare the witnesses’ statements. The chats show Chadwick asking for instructions on what to say to Cueto and offering to contact those summoned, dismantling the narrative of being distanced from the case.

The most compelling evidence can be found in messages from February 2017. In light of the imminent summons of Jorge Villa, the controller of Latam, and Ignacio Cueto, Chadwick became a key player in preparing their testimonies. «I would first worry about the employee to prepare his statement. If you could ask him to be in the office tomorrow afternoon so I could prepare him, that would be fantastic,» Hermosilla indicated in a chat, while Chadwick coordinated the time and place for the meeting at LAN’s offices.

«Tomorrow Tuesday at 10 AM at the Lan office… I was ready for us to go,» he wrote.

The next day, the former minister inquired about the accounting details that could complicate the board, a clear indication that he was fully immersed in the most sensitive aspects of the defense..

Due to the active participation revealed in the chats, Chadwick’s declaration before the Public Ministry on March 10, 2025, is now being questioned.

Prosecutor Summons Chadwick for a Second Time

The omission of this episode in his testimony now forces the Prosecutor’s Office to take action. In fact, the Regional Prosecutor of Arica, Mario Carrera, has already announced that Chadwick will need to testify again, following the revelation of the message exchanges between him, Manuel Guerra, and Luis Hermosilla.

The international dimension of the LAN case adds an additional layer of pressure on the former minister’s defense. According to Reportea, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was closely monitoring the Chilean investigation, and their reports revealed contradictions among prosecutors regarding the reasons for its shelving. Chadwick and Hermosilla were aware of this scrutiny; in fact, one chat shows the former alerting the latter about a report mentioning Piñera as «former president of Chile» in the context of the bribes.

Concerns about the candidate’s image and pressures from the international organization explain why Cueto’s defense was handled so discreetly, and why today, the revelation of these chats becomes a central element threatening to undermine the account given by the former Minister of the Interior to the judiciary.