Amnesty International: Naín Retamal Law Creates Impunity for Carabineros Forces

Rodrigo Bustos, director of Amnesty International in Chile, stated that the right to peaceful protest is in worse conditions today than in 2019: "There was no law regulating the use of force, no deep structural reform of the Carabineros, and yet the Naín Retamal law was approved, which has now been used to grant a cloak of impunity to the individual deemed responsible by the courts for blinding Gustavo Gatica," affirmed Bustos.

The Citizen

13/01/2026 4:33pm

Original article: Amnistía Internacional: Ley Naín Retamal entrega manto de impunidad a Carabineros

Following the court ruling in the Gustavo Gatica case, Rodrigo Bustos, the executive director of Amnesty International in Chile, stated that the Naín Retamal law has provided a «cloak of impunity» to the Carabineros institution, asserting that the country is now «in worse conditions than in 2019» regarding the right to protest.

«The court’s decision was essentially the application of the Naín Retamal law that was enacted in April 2023. This law was applied in the court’s regulations definition and granted a privileged self-defense right that ultimately delivered an impunity shield to Mr. Crespo,» Bustos declared after the ruling was announced.

He further recalled that Amnesty International had warned in April 2023 that the Naín Retamal law was not just about providing legal certainty or protection for Carabineros; it could lead to impunity for human rights violations, including those committed during the social upheaval. «We predicted this, and it has come true today. Due to the Naín Retamal law, there is now impunity in a case where the individual responsible for blinding Gustavo Gatica has been identified,» he emphasized.

The Country Remains ‘in Worse Conditions’

When questioned about the legal implications of the court’s decision regarding Gustavo Gatica’s case, Bustos argued that «in 2019, Chile experienced serious and widespread human rights violations against those who protested and demonstrated. As of 2026, we find ourselves in worse conditions than in 2019. There was no law regulating force use, there was no deep structural reform of the Carabineros, and yet the Naín Retamal law was approved, which was used today to grant impunity to the individual deemed responsible for blinding Gustavo Gatica during the protests in 2019.»

«Therefore, we can say that as of March 2026 and moving forward, we are in worse conditions for people in Chile to be able to demonstrate peacefully and freely, and that the misuse of force by the police is not free from this cloak of impunity,» emphasized the lawyer and AI representative in the country.

Today it was established that the accused was responsible for blinding Gustavo Gatica for protesting in 2019.
But there was impunity. In 2023, from @amnistiachile we stated: the Naín Retamal Law was not simply to protect the Carabineros but also to leave impunity… https://t.co/5oF6Iize3C

— Rodrigo Bustos Bottai (@rbustosbottai) January 13, 2026