Leaders of Chile’s Mapuche people were arrested Sunday in Huracán, a massive police operation that was supported by the Government and carried out simultaneously in both the Bío Bío and La Araucanía regions, in the south of Chile.

All of the eight suspects are currently under investigation after, allegedly, burning lorries and forestry machines in the towns of Lautaro, Temuco and Padre Las Casas, in La Araucanía.

Two of them were also accused of arson, linked to the burning of 18 lorries close to Ruta 5 Sur, a highway in Padre Las Casas.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office in La Araucanía believes that the organization those arrested belong to -Coordinadora Arauco Malleco (CAM)- intended to burn up to 100 lorries by the end of the year.

Even though territorial issues have been present in the area for decades, violence has increased in the last couple of months with indigenous groups pressing the Chilean State to regulate the action of forestry companies in La Araucanía.

Alejandro Zoñez | Agencia UNO
Alejandro Zoñez | Agencia UNO

Hunger strike

Four other Mapuche protesters, who were also accused of terrorism by the Government, have been on a hunger strike for 111 days.

On Monday morning, one of them decided to stop drinking liquids after the Government’s Local Secretary, Vivian Fernández, confirmed that the accusations of terrorism they face are not to be lifted.

According to Fernández, they are stable considering how harmful starvation can result.

To show support towards those Mapuche affected, the Catholic Cathedral in Concepción – Chile’s second largest city – has been occupied by protesters.

Alejandro Zoñez | Agencia UNO
Alejandro Zoñez | Agencia UNO