The ‘Rabat Doctrine’ Impacts Drug Trafficking: 115 Sentences Reduced for Foreign Nationals Convicted of Drug Offenses

Original article: La «doctrina Rabat» también llegó al narco: revelan 115 rebajas de penas a extranjeros condenados por delitos de drogas

An analysis of 150 decrees issued by the Ministry of Justice, led by Fernando Rabat, has revealed that 115 foreign nationals convicted of drug trafficking in Chile have been granted sentence reductions.

These decisions, made under the administration of José Antonio Kast, applied the so-called «Rabat Doctrine», an administrative criterion based on a 2018 ruling by the Santiago Court and two Supreme Court decisions. They established that the government is not empowered to deny the benefit of sentence reduction based on the severity of the crime or the legal interest protected, replicating the same argumentative line used to grant controversial reductions benefiting 56 individuals convicted of sexual abuse against minors and extortionists linked to the Tren de Aragua.

According to a report from Interferencia, one key case involved Colombian citizen Fredy Orlas Heredia, who had lived in Chile illegally for over seven years.

His arrest occurred on September 28, 2021, at the La Negra checkpoint in Antofagasta, when OS7 Carabineros officers inspected a truck transporting a vehicle and detected a strong smell of illegal substances. Inside the inspected car were 51 packages containing 52 kilograms of cocaine base, divided into two bags. During the oral trial, Orlas confessed to receiving a payment of one million pesos to guard the shipment inside the vehicle, part of an operation financed by an individual nicknamed «Mopri», whose companion managed to escape during the police inspection.

Despite the Public Prosecutor’s request for an eight-year prison sentence, the Court of Oral Criminal Trial in Antofagasta imposed the minimum sentence of five years and one day on November 14, 2022, rejecting the defense’s suggestion of expulsion from the country as an alternative punishment. Subsequent technical reports maintained a negative assessment concerning his criminal profile: in April 2024, a Gendarmería assessment assigned him a high risk of recidivism, citing a prolonged and unpunished criminal career.

Additionally, in a unanimous ruling, the Parole Commission of the Antofagasta Court of Appeals denied him the benefit of early release due to a parasitic lifestyle, a connection with other law violators, and lack of progress in his social reintegration.

However, disregarding these institutional reports, on June 1, the then Undersecretary of Justice, Luis Silva, as acting substitute minister, signed the exempt decree granting a six-month sentence reduction.

Cargo Worth Over $1 Billion

Another case analyzed by Interferencia involves Bolivian citizen Jhoel Ramos Antesana, apprehended by Carabineros on July 14, 2021, on Route A-97B in the Alto Lirima area of Pica. Ramos was driving a vehicle serving as a «frontline security vehicle» to escort a fleet of three cars coordinated via radio.

The police operation intercepted a shipment of drugs valued by the Court of Oral Criminal Trial in Iquique at over 1 billion pesos, consisting of 867 kilograms of marijuana, 198.7 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride, and 25.3 kilograms of cocaine base, which had been smuggled from the Cariquima border area in collaboration with foreign suppliers.

Despite the Iquique court citing the high sophistication and logistical planning of the criminal group and the Presidential Delegation of Tarapacá sending a negative report against his potential expulsion, Ramos received a sentence of five years and one day.

Despite the seriousness of the events, on May 12, the Justice Ministry announced a three-month reduction of his sentence, allowing the inmate to regain his freedom just two days after the decree was signed.

13 Cases in Northern Chile

This pattern of reductions and benefits is evident in at least 13 cases of drug traffickers intercepted in northern Chile, most of which operated near the Colchane border crossing. These cases involve eight Bolivians, three Venezuelans, one Colombian, and one Argentine, with judicial accreditation of illegal entry through unauthorized crossings in five of the sentences.

As reported by Interferencia, a notable arrest took place on November 7, 2022, in Quebrada Chica, adjacent to Route CH-27 towards Paso Jama, where OS7 Carabineros agents caught a group of individuals on foot transporting 291.5 kilograms of marijuana. One of the accused, Bolivian Wilber Tenajas Orellana, was sentenced by the Oral Court of Calama to four years and five months in prison, while a combined sentence request was denied in August 2024.

Nonetheless, on September 7 of this year, Luis Silva, in his role as substitute minister, decreed a seven-month pardon, accelerating the definitive conclusion of his sentence from April 2027 to September 8, 2026.

Ketamine, Guns, and Grenades

Another case reported by the investigative outlet involved Venezuelan José Luis Liscano Bermúdez, apprehended on October 6, 2021, along with Víctor Mora Araya, after crossing through Colchane with 32.7 kilograms of ketamine, two handguns, and a military grenade.

Although both evaded charges for violating the Firearms Law due to formal deficiencies in the prosecution and the absence of expert analysis on the explosive device, Liscano was sentenced to five years and one day for illegal drug trafficking, and his requests for a mixed sentence were denied in 2024 and 2025.

Ignoring these procedural setbacks, on April 10, Minister Fernando Rabat signed the decree reducing their sentences, allowing both convicts to enjoy complete freedom today.

A similar outcome benefited Venezuelan Edixon Escobar García, who was apprehended by OS7 of Arica on August 2, 2020, in the Pampa Gallinazo area, between border markers 17 and 21, while illegally entering with 25.5 kilograms of cannabis and two kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride.

Even though the Parole Commission denied him benefits on April 25, 2025, Minister Rabat approved a reduction of his sentence on April 23, 2026, enabling the inmate to leave prison the day following the issuance of the decree.

The Justice Ministry’s resolutions reached networks involved in vehicular trafficking and manual transshipment in the high mountains. In the Colchane region, Bolivian citizens Estefanía Cante Gonzales and Estela Cocha Tito were apprehended on February 8, 2022, after being spotted by military personnel at an unauthorized crossing with 25 kilograms of marijuana.

Both were favored by Kast’s administration. In Cocha Tito‘s case, the decree signed by then-undersecretary Luis Silva on July 13 advanced her sentence conclusion by eleven months. Likewise, Venezuelan Daniela Velásquez Jiménez, arrested in April 2022 during mixed patrols by Carabineros and the Army, received an eleven-month reduction in her sentence.

The list of beneficiaries in the Colchane area also includes significant drug shipments intercepted from Bolivian citizens Cristhian Oblitas Uscamayta, caught with 103.4 kilograms of marijuana in luggage, and Javier Pérez Mamani, who entered with 59.9 kilograms of cannabis and one kilogram of cocaine.

The list of sentence reduction decrees is capped by resolutions in favor of Vladimir Medina Mamani, caught in Pampa Toldo with 5.1 kilograms of cocaine in his backpack and denied parole in April 2025, along with David Cano Arias, intercepted by the Police Investigations (PDI) with 4.3 kilograms of cocaine in Colchane, «while administrative reintegration proceedings were coordinated,» reported Interferencia.

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