Attorney Files Complaint Against Kast for False Claims on Homicide Rates in Chile

Original article: Denuncian a Kast ante Contraloría por entregar cifras falsas sobre homicidios

Attorney Luis Mariano Rendón has lodged a formal complaint with the Comptroller General of the Republic against José Antonio Kast, alleging that he provided false statistics regarding homicides recorded in Chile.

During a discussion on Radio Agricultura, the president claimed that under former President Gabriel Boric’s administration, homicides “significantly increased” over the four years.

«During Gabriel Boric’s government, homicides increased greatly. Some might say ‘it started to decrease towards the end,’ but it rose significantly over the four years,» were Kast’s exact words, despite the interviewer, Cristina González, pointing out this was not the case.

The complaint filed by Rendón references data from official documents, stating that the 2025 Homicide Victims Report from the Center for the Prevention of Homicides and Violent Crimes indicates a downward trend in homicides over this period, consolidating information from police, prosecutors, the Medical Legal Service, and the Ministry of Public Security.

Specifically, the data reveals that during Boric’s term, there were 1,330 homicides in 2022, 1,249 in 2023, 1,209 in 2024, and 1,091 in 2025, thereby confirming a decline.

The attorney highlighted that from 2022 to 2025, there was an approximate 20% decrease in the homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants.

Kast’s claims were also labeled as false by Fast Check.

The organization specializing in verifying public statements made by political and social authorities stated, «It is incorrect to assert that homicides increased during the four years of the previous government; on the contrary, they consistently decreased,» providing numerous statistics and sources to support their claim.

Rendón also referenced opinions from experts at the Center for Citizen Security Studies, University of Catholic Government School, and a retired Carabinero colonel, who contradicted Kast’s declarations about crime rates during Boric’s administration.

It is noteworthy that last August, the attorney made a similar complaint to the regulatory body regarding the president’s statements on security statistics.

In a national broadcast, Kast claimed that Chile experienced 218,000 violent robberies in 2025, while Rendón pointed out that official statistics from the Center for Crime Studies and Analysis recorded just 69,777 cases—a figure that doesn’t even reach half of what the head of state reported.

«This is not the first time President Kast has misled the public with false figures on crime. Just a month ago, I reported him for tripling the figure of violent robberies in a national broadcast, and now he does it again, this time claiming that homicides increased over four years when official data from his own government shows the exact opposite,» he stated in the recent complaint submitted to the Comptroller.

According to the attorney, Kast’s statements should not be dismissed as statistical errors since his comments are «not an isolated mistake,» but rather an action aimed at «distorting the reality to undermine the previous administration and magnify his own.»

«The head of state cannot deceive Chileans with statistics from the state he leads,» he declared, urging that the Comptroller conduct an investigation and seek technical reports from both the Ministry of Public Security and the Center for the Prevention of Homicides and Violent Crimes.

In his view, it is also necessary for the regulatory agency to adopt legally appropriate measures in such situations.

«It’s Shameful That the President Holds Such Disdain for His Office»

Rendón believes that the two complaints raise concerns regarding public function conduct and the principle of propriety established in the Constitution and the Law of Bases of State Administration.

For the attorney, it is essential that «the Comptroller quickly addresses both complaints» as they pertain to issues related to exercising public functions and the principle of propriety set forth in both the Constitution and the Law of Bases of State Administration, as reported by El Clarín.

«It is truly shameful that your country’s president holds such disdain for the office he occupies, that he has no problem systematically tarnishing it with his lies. José Antonio Kast does not change. It is to be hoped that the Comptroller will put him in his place,» the professional stated in a message shared on social media.