The head of National Defense in La Araucanía, General Edward Slater, addressed this Thursday the acts of violence that have occurred in the region after the Limited State of Emergency was decreed, which was implemented by the Government of President Gabriel Boric to combat, precisely, the violent acts, the that gained strength in recent days, when a forestry worker -Segundo Catril- died after being shot in the head during an ambush.
In this regard, General Slater pointed out that the latest acts of violence are not going “to lead to anything, I don’t know what these people intend by carrying out these acts of terror, death, destruction and causing death, moreover, to peaceful people of their own ethnicity.
“I find that inconceivable, it is the last straw that this kind of thing happens, I reject all kinds of violence, but this has reached a limit that is unacceptable,” he added.
Regarding the messages against the military presence in the area, the general told them to “avoid continuing along these lines, why? What are you going to achieve? Do you want fear, do you want to produce terror? We, the military, are not going to to scare”.
In addition, he pointed out that “we are not going to get tired, we are going to be there 24/7 and if necessary, not sleep. We are not going to sleep until we complete the task that has been entrusted to us with all our means, with all our abilities, because we love our compatriots, we love the Mapuche people and we do not want, for any reason, that situations like these are repeated again ” .
There is no lack of political support
General Slater also referred to the criticism made by the opposition, who ask for more political support for the deployed Armed Forces. Regarding this, the general said that “we do not lack political support. We have received the support of the direct authorities of the region,” he assured.
In addition, and despite the “reprehensible” attack in which Segundo Catril was murdered, “we have managed -and the numbers and hard data say so- to lower the frequency and quantity of violent acts in the region and I hope it will continue.”
