Original article: La «mano dura» de Kast contra el crimen organizado: Rabat esquiva preguntas por rebajas a condenados que invocaban al Tren de Aragua

Kast’s Tough Stance on Organized Crime: Justice Minister Rabat Sidesteps Questions on Sentencing Reductions for Aragua Train Members

Justice Minister Fernando Rabat avoided questions concerning the sentence reductions granted to three Venezuelan nationals involved in a series of criminal acts against migrant women in La Serena, who presented themselves as members of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua.

According to a report by Interferencia, Franyorkin Aramburu Hernández, Winder Marott Morán, and Jhonder Ollarves Berbesi were sentenced in August 2022 by the Oral Criminal Court of La Serena to five years and one day in prison for robbery with intimidation and related weapons offenses, as the Public Prosecutor’s Office could not establish their affiliation with the Tren de Aragua due to the victims’ decision not to testify.

Despite José Antonio Kast’s promise to implement a ‘hardline’ approach against organized crime upon taking office, Aramburu received a nine-month reduction, while Marott and Ollarves each benefited from three-month reductions.

The decrees for the first two were signed by Minister Rabat on July 6 and September 4, respectively, with the third signed on September 7 by Deputy Minister of Justice Luis Silva, acting as the substitute minister.

According to the aforementioned media outlet, all three received these benefits without initial objection from Rabat and without the Kast administration attempting to deport them, even though diplomatic relations with Venezuela were already reestablished at the time of the decree.

Following the decrees, Marott and Ollarves regained their freedom early, leaving prison on September 9 and 10.

Rabat Sidesteps Questions in the Senate

In light of these revelations, during a session of the Senate Constitution Committee, Senator Daniella Cicardini (PS) confronted the Justice Minister, reminding him that the Kast administration has touted the fight against organized crime as one of its primary goals.

The minister chose neither to confirm nor deny the backgrounds of the three convicted individuals who received sentence reductions, merely stating that «this is a procedure where the analysis is carried out by the respective committee.»

When pressed by the senator, he referred to Article 17 of Law No. 19,856, which establishes the causes for exclusion, and indicated that the Executive cannot claim additional powers to reject requests, as reported by El Mostrador.

During his appearance before the Senate Committee, Rabat reiterated that these benefits did not originate from the Kast administration.

The state secretary claimed that during the administration of former President Gabriel Boric, more than 275 resolutions granting similar benefits were issued, and stated that there would be approximately 375 cases between both administrations.

However, former Justice Minister Jaime Gajardo has already cast doubt on that comparison. “Those decrees are not the same,” he warned, explaining that during his tenure, requests were denied, and reductions were granted only when it was appropriate to comply with judicial sentences. In contrast, he questioned that the Kast administration applied its interpretation of the jurisprudence directly to grant the benefits.

Justice Ministry Initially Rejected Requests

However, there is another background that puts the official defense under scrutiny: the Ministry of Justice began rejecting requests during the current administration.

According to Interferencia, between March and May of this year, the ministry rejected at least five requests for reductions for convicted sex offenders against minors, including cases predating the 2022 legal reform, and it was Rabat himself who rejected two of those petitions.

According to documents reviewed by the outlet, since June, the Justice Ministry began to apply a different criterion, invoking jurisprudence from higher courts to grant the benefits.

This change had judicial precedents: in previous months, courts had accepted appeals against certain exclusions, which, as Rabat explained, prompted his department to modify the interpretation applied to new requests.

Before the senators, the minister defended the controversial resolutions and stated that 36 of the 54 decrees had prior amparo resources.

An investigation by Mega Investiga reviewed 27 judicial rulings and documented that in at least 17 cases, there were favorable resolutions that ordered reconsideration of exclusions, reevaluation of backgrounds, or preservation of previously acknowledged sentence reductions.

However, these evaluations were not directly linked to granting the benefit of sentence reductions, as the scope of each ruling depends on what is resolved in the file.

In the midst of the debate, the Justice Minister questioned the criticisms and asserted that “political gains cannot be made from situations like these.”

Rabat, who faces widespread criticism, calls for his resignation, a criminal complaint filed by deputies Luis Cuello (PC) and Juan Santana (PS), and the possibility of a constitutional accusation from the opposition, assured that he has the support «not only of the President of the Republic, but also of the cabinet and the senators».