Corruption Scandal in Gendarmería: Seven Officials Granted Preventive Detention in Puerto Montt Jail Corruption Network

Original article: Escándalo en Gendarmería: Dictan prisión preventiva contra 7 funcionarios implicados en red de corrupción en cárcel de Puerto Montt

Seven Gendarmería officials were formally charged with bribery, corruption, criminal association, money laundering, and drug-related offenses, and will serve their detention at the Valdivia Penitentiary.

In a significant blow to corruption within the prison system, the Guarantee Court of Puerto Montt ordered preventive detention for seven Gendarmería officials on Thursday, accused of being part of an extensive criminal network operating within the Alto Bonito Prison. An eighth individual, a civilian woman, has been placed under total house arrest.

This precautionary measure was issued at the conclusion of a two-day formalization hearing lasting over five hours, justified by the potential threat to public safety that the defendants’ freedom posed, as noted by Judge Rolando Díaz.

The investigation, led by Prosecutor Nathalie Yonsson from the Puerto Montt Local Prosecutor’s Office, has spanned at least three years and included wiretaps and meticulous analysis of financial transactions in bank accounts. These efforts uncovered what the prosecution described as a «corruption apparatus,» characterized by systematic and quantifiable economic transactions.

Mechanisms of the Corruption Network

According to the Public Ministry’s accusation, the guards leveraged their custodial roles in various prison modules to establish a lucrative illegal business. Their operation involved facilitating the entry and sale of a wide range of «prohibited items, regulatory non-compliant items, and illicit goods,» as detailed by Prosecutor Yonsson in her arguments.

During the hearing, Judge Díaz provided concrete examples of this corruption, including the charging of 150,000 Chilean pesos for allowing the entry of rum bottles for New Year celebrations, a fee of 20,000 pesos for each illegally introduced mobile phone, transactions amounting to 300,000 pesos allegedly linked to drug trafficking, and the provision of special privileges to certain inmates, even permitting sexual relations with visitors in prison bathrooms in exchange for money.

However, the plot extended beyond ordinary smuggling, as the investigation revealed that one of the defendants, identified as a former union leader of Gendarmería staff, facilitated phone scams from the prison.

Additionally, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, this same official participated in fake search procedures – known as «mexicanas» – where prohibited items were confiscated only to be later sold back to inmates, reported Bio Bío Chile.

“They took advantage of their custodial duties in various prison modules, thus allowing the circulation and sale of prohibited, regulatory non-compliant, and illicit items,” emphasized Prosecutor Yonsson while presenting the gravity of the situation.

“They enabled the internal operation of the prison by providing cellphones for inmates to commit various phone scams and coordinate launches from outside to inside the prison,” she added in statements reported by ADN.

Defense attorneys Matías Gallardo and Gustavo Riveros, representing some of the defendants, attempted to dismantle the charges of money laundering and criminal association. They argued that there was no substantial acquisition of goods that would justify the money laundering charge and questioned the formation of a criminal association. Based on this, they requested total house arrest as an alternative for their clients.

Nonetheless, Prosecutor Yonsson justified the request for preventive detention and warned of the dangers to the investigation – due to the risk that the accused could obstruct inquiries – and, above all, the danger to society.

She highlighted that “only one guard dared to testify against the accused, as all expressed a certain reverential fear of testifying and suffering reprisals from their colleagues, as did the witnesses, who are inmates that have testified and many expressed fears of sanctions, module changes, and issues where effectively a module change for them would imply suffering sanctions or potentially death.”

Gendarmes to Serve Preventive Detention in Valdivia

After evaluating the evidence, Judge Díaz affirmed the prosecution’s arguments, and the seven Gendarmería officials were charged with bribery, corruption, criminal association, and money laundering, as well as violations of drug laws.

The magistrate indicated that their freedom poses «a risk to public safety linked to an inherent flight risk regarding the indictment of the seven officials.”

“The precautionary measure of preventive detention is accepted for them,” he asserted.

The officials will serve their precautionary measure at the Valdivia Penitentiary. Moreover, the court set a 200-day investigation period for the Prosecutor’s Office to complete its investigation and prepare a formal indictment.

The seven guards and the civilian were detained last Tuesday in the Los Lagos region as part of “Operation Torreón,” aimed at dismantling a bribery network within the region’s main jail in Puerto Montt. Two of the officials were members of the National Association of Penitentiary Officials (ANFUP).