RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Yesterday evening, a new arson attack was registered, burning four huts on Lake Lanalhue in the Chan Chan sector of the Contulmo municipality in the Bío Bío region.
Unknown persons arrived at the scene in the early morning hours, sprayed accelerants on the summer huts, and then set them on fire.
The houses, made of light material, were located on the side of Route P-60R at kilometer 44 and were unoccupied.
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Carlos Bocaz, one of the owners of one of the shacks, said, “This has been going on for a while. They have threatened us; they have threatened the janitors. Last night we were warned that the houses would be set on fire, and that’s exactly what happened.”
On Wednesday morning, there was another arson attack on a forestry operation in the Bío Bío region, this time in the Trongol Bajo sector, on the border between the municipalities of Curanilahue and Los Álamos.
Seven wood processing machines were destroyed, and three workers were injured. One of them has a gunshot wound, another has hip contusions from blows with the butt of a rifle, and the third has hearing trauma from the explosion of a tire.
A pamphlet signed by the Mapuche resistance Lafkenche was found at the attack site, calling for the release of Mapuche prisoners and social outbursts.
In addition to these two arson attacks, a video was released this morning showing a hooded man in military uniform, helmet, and bulletproof vest intimidating a truck driver with a gun. The video was taken in the Los Ríos sector, in the Bío Bío region.
The prosecutor on duty took note of these incidents and instructed specialized police forces to take initial steps to collect evidence and background information to locate the perpetrators of the arson attacks.
Southern Chile has been under a constitutional state of emergency since October 13, 2021, due to the disturbance of public order in Arauco and three other provinces of the Southern Macrozone.