Camilo Catrillanca

Camilo Marcelo Catrillanca Marín (13 September 1994 – 14 November 2018) was a Mapuche farmer from Temucuicui in Chile who was shot to death by the Chilean police force. The incident led to protests against police violence, and occurred in the broader context of the ongoing conflict over Mapuche civil rights.[1]

Camilo Catrillanca
Camilo Catrillanca, 2011
Born
Camilo Marcelo Catrillanca Marín

(1994-09-13)September 13, 1994
Victoria, Chile
DiedNovember 14, 2018(2018-11-14) (aged 24)
Temucuicui, Chile
Cause of deathFirearm wound
NationalityChilean
OccupationFarmer, Mapuche activist

Biography

Camilo Catrillanca was grandson of the former Mapuche chief Juan Catrillanca and son of Marcelo Catrillanca, the president of the "Ignacio Queipul Millanao" Mapuche community.[2]

He was a leader of the student movement in the Liceo de Pailahueque and worked for the reclamation of Mapuche lands in Ercilla, in the Chilean region of La Araucanía. In 2011, he led a protest by a group of high school students in Ercilla, which ended 13 days later, after reaching an agreement to create an intercultural high school and to increase scholarships.[3]

At the time of his death he had a 6-year-old daughter, and his wife was pregnant.[1][2]

Death

Catrillanca was killed by a shot he received in the head on November 14, 2018 in the Mapuche community of Temucuicui, a Mapuche community located some 600 kilometers south of Santiago, during an operation carried out by a unit of the Special Police Operations Group of Carabineros called the "Tactical Reaction Group", and known in the press as the "Jungle Commando".[1][4][5] Catrillanca was riding with a 15-year-old teenager on a tractor when he was shot in the back of the neck by Jungle Commando squad member who suspected the two of involvement with car theft among others.[1]

The teenager who was traveling next to Catrillanca, identified by the initials MACP, who was the primary witness of his death, was arrested along with three other people by the Carabineros, but his arrest was declared to have been illegal, and he was released.[6] MACP reported he had been severely beaten by police during the arrest.[1][7]

The National Institute of Human Rights announced a criminal complaint for the torture to which MACP had been subjected during his detention.[8]

Conflicting versions of events

The police report stated that the shooting occurred as the carabineros were investigating the theft of three teachers' cars from the Santa Rosa School of Ancapi Ñancucheo, in Ercilla.[9] After a chase, the carabineros managed to recover two vehicles. Both the police and the government said that Catrillanca was involved with the crime.[10] The community of Temucuicui denied this versions, stating that the "Jungle Commandos" entered the town firing bursts of bullets, without provocation,[5] and that the Human Rights Unit of the La Araucanía Public Prosecutor's Office announced it would investigate the facts of the case.[11]

Catrillanca has become an icon for resistance against police brutality in Chile. The sign's text says "Asesinado", the Spanish word for "Assassinated."

The mayor of La Araucanía, Luis Mayol, said on November 14 that Catrillanca "had a history of receiving stolen vehicles."[12] On November 16, Congresswoman Pamela Jiles published Catrillanca's background sheet, which indicated that he had no criminal record.[13] Interior Minister Andrés Chadwick said that Catrillanca did have a police record, though not a criminal record, and that he had been arrested on October 22, 2018 for receiving stolen property, but that he had not been convicted.[14]

The Carabineros asserted on November 17 that the events had not been recorded by its officers,[15] but the following day the government announced that Catrillanca's death was recorded on video, but that said recordings had been destroyed by Carabineros.[1][16] It was also announced that four carabineros had been dismissed, and that two high-ranking officers had resigned; La Araucanía mayor Luis Mayol also subsequently resigned.[1]

Two police videos of Catrillanca's death were found in December 2018, and they show that Catrillanca was unarmed, conflicting with previous assertions by the officers involved. Following this revelation, Chilean president Sebastián Piñera forced the resignation of the national police chief, Hermes Soto, as well as ten other police commanders.[17][18]

Responses to his death

Catrillanca's death led to protests and demonstrations in Santiago and other cities. Opposition leaders and rights groups called for the dismantling of the Jungle Commando units and the resignation of Interior Minister Andrés Chadwick.

Amnesty International described the killing as "outrageous and alarming."[19]

Investigations

Interior Minister Chadwick and his undersecretary, Rodrigo Ubilla, were summoned to testify before the congressional human rights commission and the state attorney general to answer questions both about Catrillanca's case itself and about police obstruction in the investigation. Jungle Commando leader Manuel Valdivieso resigned after he was accused of lying about the case and forcing those in his command to lie as well. Carlos Alarcon, the main suspect in Catrillanca's killing, testified that Valdivieso and a lawyer forced him and others to lie about the attack, saying that Catrillanca was attacking them with firearms and that there was no body camera footage of the events.[1]

See also

References
  1. Bonnefoy, Pascale (2018-11-25). "Killing of Indigenous Man in Chile Spurs Criticism of Security Forces". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-11-27.
  2. "Camilo Catrillanca, una vida de lucha por el Pueblo Mapuche | Mapuexpress". www.mapuexpress.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-11-27.
  3. Chile, CNN. "Quién era Camilo Catrillanca, el comunero mapuche que murió tras ser baleado en la comunidad Temucuicui". CNN Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-11-27.
  4. "Armas y violencia: Las condiciones para que el Comando Jungla entre en acción". La Tercera (in Spanish). 2018-11-15. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  5. Montes, Rocío (2018-11-15). "La muerte de un mapuche intensifica el conflicto en la Araucanía chilena". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  6. Parra, Francisco (2018-11-15). "Tribunal de Collipulli declara ilegal la detención del joven de 15 años que presenció la muerte de Camilo Catrillanca". El Desconcierto (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  7. "Carabinero que mató a Catrillanca habría cambiado su cámara luego del crimen". Diario UChile. 2018-11-17. Retrieved 2018-11-27.
  8. Batarce, Catalina (2018-11-16). "INDH anuncia querella por tortura a menor que acompañaba a Camilo Catrillanca". La Tercera (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  9. "Un joven comunero mapuche murió en Chile durante un allanamiento policial". Infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  10. "Gobierno dijo que muerte de Camilo Catrillanca tuvo origen en un hecho delictual y pidió fiscal exclusivo". SoyChile. 2018-11-15. Retrieved 2018-11-27.
  11. Batarce, Catalina (2018-11-15). "Unidad de DD.HH. de la Fiscalía de La Araucanía investigará muerte de comunero mapuche". La Tercera (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  12. "Estas fueron las palabras del Intendente Mayol sobre Catrillanca antes de que Gobierno reconociera que no participó en robo". El Dínamo (in Spanish). 2018-11-15. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  13. "Pamela Jiles publica el certificado de antecedentes de Catrillanca y se lo enrostra al Gobierno con durísima dedicatoria". El Dínamo (in Spanish). 2018-11-16. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  14. Romero, María Cristina (2018-11-16). "Gobierno confirma que Camilo Catrillanca sí tenía antecedentes policiales | Emol.com". Emol (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  15. Agricultura, Radio. "Carabineros confirma que no llevaban cámaras para grabar el día de la muerte de Catrillanca". Radio Agricultura (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  16. "Ministro Chadwick confirma que carabinero destruyó registro de operativo donde murió Camilo Catrillanca". 24 Horas. 2018-11-18. Retrieved 2018-11-27.
  17. Spek, Boris van der (2018-12-21). "Catrillanca case: Hermes Soto and 10 other generals forced to resign". Chile Today. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  18. "Chile police chief asked to resign over Mapuche killing". BBC News. 2018-12-21. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  19. Cooperativa.cl. "Amnistía Internacional calificó de "indignante" y "alarmante" la muerte de Camilo Catrillanca". Cooperativa.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-11-28.
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