International

Four complaints in a month for sexual abuse against public figures shake Chile

Four complaints in just one month for alleged abuse and alleged sexual assaults have shaken Chile, which this Thursday saw as the most notable of them, the former Undersecretary of the Interior Manuel Monsalve, one of the most powerful men in the country, was detained at his home in Viña del Mar, more than a month after the complaint was filed.

The so-called ‘Monsalve Case’, the first to explode, on October 17, was succeeded days later by the complaint with preventive imprisonment of the retired soccer player and former figure of the Chilean national team two-time champion of America, Jorge Valdivia, the complaint against Deputy Marcela Riquelme, member of the Frente Amplio, the coalition that supports President Gabriel Boric, and the arrest last weekend of an escort of the President of Vietnam, Luong Cuong, on an official visit to the country.

In addition, a woman accused the captain of the Colo Colo, league champion, and soul of the Chilean soccer team, Arturo Vidal, of sexual abuse in a case that is still in the air.

Monsalve case

The facts of Monsalve’s alleged rape of one of his advisors, according to the complaint, would have occurred on September 22 in a restaurant and hotel in downtown Santiago.

The woman reported that she got up in the undersecretary’s bedroom without remembering what had happened since they left the restaurant and that she discovered evidence that she was sexually forced, so she decided to report it.

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Monsalve was arrested this Thursday and the Government has highlighted the facts under the umbrella of the Constitution that ‘in Chile there is no privileged person or group’.

‘Culture of rape’ in Chilean football

After the accusation against the former undersecretary, two new complaints appeared, but this time against the former Colo Colo footballer, Jorge Valdivia, who accused and formalized for rape against the first victim.

The second complainant claims to have suffered the abuse in the athlete’s apartment, after a date in a restaurant and continuing in a nightclub. The victim claims that he had “drugged” her to have sex, and claimed to have woken up in his own home without remembering what had happened.

The reformalization for this second complaint will continue next week, in the meantime, Valdivia will continue to comply with the precautionary measure of house arrest.

Colo Colo, the winning team of the Chilean Super Cup, also took more prominence after the accusation of drugging a woman and allegedly committing a crime and sexual nature by footballer Arturo Vidal and a group of teammates.

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There are still no detainees and the name of all those involved is unknown, but Carabineros Colonel Gerardo Aravena confirmed that Vidal, 37, was the only one taken to the police station and subsequently released.
The events occurred in a bar in the capital commune of Vitacura, from where the complaint was also made and where Carabineros registered all those identified.

“Prohibition of returning to Chile”

This Monday, the Government of Chile reported on the complaint of sexual abuse by a member of the security device of the Vietnam delegation, who was on an official visit to the country.

According to local media, the Vietnamese official allegedly sexually abused a worker at the hotel where he was staying.

The subject went to detention and formalization control, and the conditional suspension of the procedure for two years was arranged as an alternative solution and the prohibition of entering the country and approaching the victim was determined.

The case of a deputy

In the fourth, the deputy of the Frente Amplio, Marcela Riquelme, is involved, who this week decided to denounce herself and renounce her affiliation to the progressive party despite the fact that she assures that she is innocent and that there is no formal complaint against her in the Prosecutor’s Office.

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The parliamentarian made this decision after the information leaked to the press and the party announced the start of an internal investigation, hinting a possible conspiracy.

“I have been the subject of a complaint and it has been within the party, and that complaint was leaked to the press, causing serious damage not only to the alleged victim, but also to myself, my family, my friends and of course to my team,” said the legislator for the 15th district of the O’Higgins Region, in the center of the country.

“For that reason, I have decided that the complaint is where it has to be, which is in the Courts of Justice and today I have self-denounced. In the same way, and hoping to provide all the necessary means of proof to clarify the truth, with the same transparency that we have always had as a deputation, what we have done is renounce the Frente Amplio,” which he also accused of not supporting it.

International

Marco Rubio warns Venezuela against military action against Guyana

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Venezuela on Thursday that a military attack on Guyana would be “a big mistake” and “a very bad day for them,” expressing his support for Georgetown in its territorial dispute with Caracas.

“It would be a very bad day for the Venezuelan regime if they attacked Guyana or ExxonMobil. It would be a very bad day, a very bad week for them, and it would not end well,” Rubio emphasized during a press conference in Georgetown alongside Guyanese President Irfaan Ali.

International

Ecuador oil spill worsens as containment dam collapses

The collapse of a containment dam holding back part of the 25,000+ barrels of oil spilled from a pipeline rupture nearly two weeks ago has worsened the environmental crisis in northwestern Ecuador, contaminating rivers and Pacific beaches.

The Ecuadorian government attributed the March 13 pipeline rupture—which led to the spill of 25,116 barrels of crude—to an act of sabotage. The spill affected three rivers and disrupted water supplies for several communities, according to authorities.

On Tuesday, due to heavy rains that have been falling since January, a containment dam on the Caple River collapsed. The Caple connects to other waterways in Esmeraldas Province, a coastal region bordering Colombia, state-owned Petroecuador said in a statement on Wednesday.

Seven containment barriers were installed in the Viche River, where crews worked to remove oil-contaminated debris. Additional absorbent materials were deployed in Caple, Viche, and Esmeraldas Rivers, which flow into the Pacific Ocean.

Authorities are also working to protect a wildlife refuge home to more than 250 species, including otters, howler monkeys, armadillos, frigatebirds, and pelicans.

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“This has been a total disaster,” said Ronald Ruiz, a leader in the Cube community, where the dam was located. He explained that the harsh winter rains caused river levels to rise, bringing debris that broke the containment barriersthat were holding the accumulated oil for extraction.

International

Federal court blocks Trump’s use of Enemy Alien Act for deportations

A federal appeals court upheld the block on former President Donald Trump’s use of the Enemy Alien Act on Wednesday, preventing him from using the law to expedite deportations of alleged members of the transnational criminal group Tren de Aragua.

With a 2-1 ruling, a panel from the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed previous decisions by two lower court judges, maintaining the legal standoff between the White House and the judiciary.

On March 14, Trump invoked the 1798 Enemy Alien Act, a law traditionally used during wartime, to deport hundreds of Venezuelans whom he accused of belonging to Tren de Aragua, a criminal organization that originated in Venezuelan prisons.

The centuries-old law grants the president the power to detain, restrict, and expel foreign nationals from a country engaged in a “declared war” or an “invasion or predatory incursion” against the United States, following a public proclamation.