Original article: Depósitos y llamadas reabren dudas sobre el vínculo entre Carter y Manuel Guerra en La Florida

New Revelations on Financial Transfers and Calls Raise Questions About the Ties Between Carter and Manuel Guerra in La Florida

The relationship between former prosecutor Manuel Guerra and Senator Rodolfo Carter (Ind-Rep) is under renewed scrutiny following the emergence of new details involving financial transactions, phone calls, and a web of cross-contracting during the period when the senator served as the mayor of La Florida and was under investigation for a substantial municipal deficit.

The case, which has already led to Guerra’s preventive detention, now includes journalist Ariella Orrego, a collaborator of both men, as a key figure in a network of connections that Senator Manuel José Ossandón (RN) has called for further investigation.

While Guerra was investigating the then-mayor, Orrego, after working as an advisor in the Metropolitan Eastern Regional Prosecutor’s Office, was hired by the Municipality of La Florida.

According to information accessed by CIPER, judicial proceedings reveal that the journalist transferred a total of $2 million to Guerra while working with Carter at the municipality. Additionally, she made three other deposits totaling $1.8 million after leaving the municipality.

In 2023, the former prosecutor was also hired by Carter in La Florida as “Public Prosecutor” for an amount of $4,597,701, which increased to $4,637,681 in 2024; a position currently being investigated by the regional prosecutor of Arica, Mario Carrera.

Investigation Against Carter ‘Led Nowhere’ Amid Contracting in La Florida

Senator Manuel José Ossandón not only supports the need for an investigation but has also already provided testimony to prosecutor Carrera, in which he recalled that Carter was implicated in a case handled by Guerra’s regional prosecutor’s office, concerning a 20 billion peso deficit in La Florida. However, he indicated that that investigation has “led nowhere.”

“Afterward, Guerra and others from his circle were hired by the Municipality of La Florida,” said the legislator, referring to the case of Ariella Orrego, whom he described as Guerra’s former university classmate and close friend.

He noted that after serving as Guerra’s advisor in the Metropolitan Eastern Regional Prosecutor’s Office, the journalist went on to collaborate with Carter just as the prosecutor was still investigating the then-mayor.

Transfers and Calls

The financial transactions between Orrego and Guerra have been documented. The first deposit was recorded on August 12, 2020, for $250,000, just five months after she left the Public Ministry. Then, on February 9, 2022, she transferred $1,750,000. Orrego worked at the municipality until April 2022, and after her departure, she made three additional transfers: one in August for $500,000 and two between November and December for $650,000 each. In total, the transfers amounted to $3.8 million, according to CIPER.

Orrego’s explanation to the cited outlet stated that all payments corresponded to a loan she received from Guerra, although no documents have been presented to back this claim.

However, the transfers are not the only link. The prosecutor’s office also analyzed the call traffic of the former prosecutor and his phone geolocation. Records show that shortly after leaving the Public Ministry, and while the investigation against Carter was still active, Guerra contacted the then-mayor, including three calls with Carter on September 2, 2021.

That same month, the court had already set a hearing to discuss the Decision Not to Persist that prosecutor Carlos Ramírez—close to Guerra—had presented on August 9 of that year, a motion aimed at closing the investigation.

Moreover, after leaving the prosecutor’s office, Guerra also reached out to the prosecutors who remained in charge of the case: Carlos Ramírez and Felipe Díaz.

What Did Carter and Guerra Say?

When asked by CIPER, the now-senator Rodolfo Carter was unavailable to explain his contacts with Guerra during the judicial investigation.

Nevertheless, on April 2, he had already stated to the media that in 2018 he met with the then-regional prosecutor to express his concerns about police presence—along with the press—at the municipality.

This version is echoed in the WhatsApp exchanges between Guerra and lawyer Luis Hermosilla on April 3, 2018, when Guerra wrote: “I will receive him discreetly at the prosecution as he requested.”

For her part, Guerra’s lawyer, Alejandra Navarro, declined to respond to inquiries from the investigative outlet.