CHILE · LAW
Key Facts
- —What is happening Chile’s Justice Ministry paused new good conduct sentence reductions on Friday, 23 October 2026, after granting 56 to people convicted of sex crimes against children.
- —Why it matters Chilean judges have ruled both ways on whether a harsher 2022 law can apply to older crimes, so one legal question decides who may leave prison early.
- —The numbers The ministry signed 56 reductions between 11 March and 13 September 2026, 27 for child sexual abuse and 29 for rape of a minor, and refused one request.
- —Who is who Fernando Rabat is Justice Minister under President Kast, and Hernán Larraín was Justice Minister from 2018 to 2022 and presented the 2022 law that now bars the benefit.
- —What to watch Whether Congress passes the urgent bills the government backs, and whether the Supreme Court settles its split on applying the 2022 exclusion to older crimes.
- —Power Index Chile ranks 3rd of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 63.6 points (October 2026 edition).
- —What it means for you There is no direct effect on travel to Chile or on investments there, but the row tests the Kast government’s handling of justice policy, which US investors follow.
Chile has paused sentence cuts for people convicted of sex crimes against children. This guide explains the legal rule behind the dispute.
The row over sex crime sentences in Chile turns on one question, whether a harsher 2022 law reaches earlier crimes. The Justice Ministry granted 56 sentence reductions to child sex offenders and paused new ones on Friday, 23 October 2026.
Chile’s courts have answered that question in different ways over four years. For foreign readers, the case shows how a technical rule on retroactive criminal law can decide who walks free.
Related coverage includes the Rio Times report on the 56 sentence reductions. A second report covers the former minister’s statements.
In Plain English
- Sentence reduction: a cut in prison time that Chile grants to inmates with outstanding conduct, under Law 19.856.
- Retroactive: applied to something that happened before the law existed, such as a crime committed in 2015.
- Amparo: a petition to a court to protect personal liberty, often used by inmates against a ministry decision.
- Decree: the written order, signed for the President, that grants or refuses each reduction.
- Supreme Court: Chile’s top court, whose second chamber hears these petitions on appeal.
What the Government Did on 23 October
Justice Minister Fernando Rabat said the ministry would suspend processing of new sentence reduction decrees, El Mostrador reported. The pause has no end date and does not cancel reductions already granted.
Rabat said the pause stays while urgent bills are debated, and the ministry cited a legal gap in the 2022 restrictions. The sources do not say whether the pause covers requests from people convicted of crimes against humanity.
Interferencia, a Chilean news outlet, first revealed the 56 decrees, signed between 11 March and 13 September. Rabat confirmed the total on Wednesday, 21 October, and called the reductions compliance with Supreme Court rulings, T13 reported.
Rabat said most of the 56 people have probably left prison, El Mostrador reported. He also said President José Antonio Kast did not know of the decisions.
How a Chilean Sentence Reduction Works
Law 19.856 lets prisoners with outstanding conduct earn a cut in their sentence. A commission rates the conduct, regional ministry staff check the requirements, and the ministry then issues a decree, T13 reported.
Court records show how this works in practice. In one 2022 case the commission had granted a five month cut, and the ministry refused it on 10 February 2022.
What the 2022 Law Changed
Law 21.421 amended Law 19.856 to exclude people convicted of sexual crimes against minors, the Official Gazette shows. It was published and took effect on 9 February 2022.
Hernán Larraín, Justice Minister from 2018 to 2022, presented the bill under then President Sebastián Piñera. T13 reported that the bill was presented in November 2019, and the Official Gazette dates the law 28 January 2022.
The law’s transition is the heart of the dispute. Its only transitional article covers another provision, so the Valparaíso majority read the exclusion as meant for everyone.
The Rule Against Retroactive Criminal Law
Courts in Chile cite a basic rule that a crime is punished only under a penalty set by law before the act. In 2022 the Supreme Court wrote “sin perjuicio de las alteraciones favorables o beneficiosas”, meaning later favourable changes remain possible.
A dissenting Valparaíso court member quoted article 18 of the Penal Code on penalties set by an earlier law. Rulings also cite article 19, number 3, of the Constitution.
In short, a later law may help a convict but may not make the sentence harsher. The United States has a similar rule, the Ex Post Facto Clause of its Constitution.
Why Judges Differ on Sex Crime Sentences
One camp calls a sentence reduction an administrative benefit, not a right, so a new exclusion applies at once. The Valparaíso appeals court took this view by majority on 26 December 2025, in case 5048-2025.
The Supreme Court took it in case 7527-2026, ruled on 24 February 2026, Ex-Ante reported. It wrote that Law 19.856 “concede un beneficio y no establece un derecho”, meaning it grants a benefit and creates no right.
The other camp says the exclusion changes how long a person stays in prison, so the retroactivity ban applies. The Supreme Court held this on 16 March 2022 in case 7.428-2022, by four votes to one, the Poder Judicial site shows.
On 15 January 2026 the Supreme Court reversed the Valparaíso ruling in case 75-2026, with one justice dissenting. It held that refusing the benefit broke the ban on harsher retroactive criminal law.
Ex-Ante, published on T13, says the February ruling contradicts Rabat’s claim that the Court set one uniform line. The January and February 2026 rulings reached opposite results on the same question.
What Larraín and Rabat Each Say
Larraín said in a statement on Friday, 23 October, that he refused such a request in 2018, CNN Chile reported. He says a court ruling then forced him to grant it, which led to the bill.
He argues there is “no hay derecho adquirido”, no acquired right, because the bill’s debate treated the cut as a prison benefit. T13 reported that he says recent Supreme Court rulings reversed the earlier line.
Rabat says the court established a doctrine that those who applied before 2022 deserve the benefit, T13 reported. He said the 2022 reform cannot apply retroactively against people who offended before it, Radio Pauta reported.
Rabat had also argued that the Court set a uniform line, Radio Duna and El Mostrador reported. El Mostrador says lawmakers, lawyers and Gajardo, the previous Justice Minister, questioned that argument.
The Communist Party sought signatures to summon Rabat, and the opposition is weighing a constitutional accusation, El Mostrador reported. No accusation had been filed in the sources reviewed.
What It Means for US Readers
The sources show no effect on travel to Chile or on trade with the United States. Investors may read the row as a test of Kast’s political standing, though no source forecasts that.
Background is in the Rio Times profile of President Kast and the guide to Chile’s political players. The separate row over Punta Peuco prison and the Rio Times Chile page add context.
What Is Not Known
The sources reviewed do not say how many of the 56 people have been freed or how many requests are pending. Interferencia reports that none of the 56 came through a court petition, while Rabat says they follow Supreme Court doctrine.
It is not known whether the Supreme Court will settle the split. Rabat’s remarks that most of the 56 have probably left prison and that Kast did not know come from El Mostrador alone.
What Comes Next
Rabat says the pause is meant to last while Congress debates urgent bills, El Mostrador reported. A separate Senate bill would create criminal enforcement courts, which would move decisions on reductions from commissions to judges.
None of these steps would cancel the 56 decrees already signed. The opposition’s summons and possible accusation have no date in the sources reviewed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Chilean courts reducing sex crime sentences?
Mostly the Justice Ministry does, by decree, and some courts have ordered it in individual cases. Other rulings have upheld refusals.
What does retroactive mean here?
It means applying the 2022 exclusion to crimes committed before it took effect on 9 February 2022. Courts disagree on whether that is allowed.
What is Law 21.421?
It is a 2022 law that excludes people convicted of sexual crimes against minors from good conduct sentence reductions. Hernán Larraín, then Justice Minister, presented the bill.
Did the Supreme Court order the 56 reductions?
Rabat says the ministry followed Supreme Court doctrine. Rulings reviewed point both ways, and the sources do not show a court order behind any of the 56.
What happens now?
New decrees are paused while urgent bills are debated. Reductions already granted are not cancelled.
Sources: Diario Oficial, Law 21.421, 9 February 2022; Poder Judicial, Supreme Court case 7.428-2022; Valparaíso Court of Appeals, case 5048-2025; Supreme Court, case 75-2026, 15 January 2026; T13 and Ex-Ante, Supreme Court case 7527-2026, 22 October; T13, Larraín, 23 October; CNN Chile, Larraín; T13, Rabat, 21 October; Radio Pauta, 22 October; Chilevisión, 21 October; El Mostrador, 23 October (all accessed 24 October 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief