Admiral (r) Miguel Ángel Vergara reappeared -through a letter- after being in the controversy, when a week ago The counter revealed part of his speech, in his capacity as president of the Chilean Maritime League, a group that brings together retired officers, in which he argued that given “the climate of insecurity that Chile is experiencing and the growing loss of patriotic values” Marines must be prepared to be ready “to board” because of what he calls “the internal threat.
In the letter, published this Friday in the newspaper The MercuryVergara states that “in a patriotic speech in homage to our greatest naval hero, Commander Arturo Prat, among other things, I stated that the homeland can be threatened not only from abroad, but also from within and in an underhanded manner, although I did not raise any particular situation.
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In this regard, he says that as he was now “confronted”, he will proceed to explain what he considers to be an “internal threat”: “it would be difficult to deny the serious threat that terrorism represents in the southern macrozone, where there are localities in which not even The Minister of the Interior can enter; not to mention the growing power of drug trafficking that has been sneakily infiltrating our youth.
“To that I add that the plurinationality that would be established if the new Constitution is approved, from my point of view represents a potential threat to national integrity and sovereignty,” he says.
Vergara also responds in the letter to criticism he received, because he was pointed out that he wanted to revive the National Security Doctrine, which ended with the 1973 military coup and the violation of human rights.
Regarding this, he points out that “for the peace of mind (…) of many others who are concerned about my speech, of which some phrases have been taken out of context, it would be worth reminding them that I have retired from the Navy for 17 years, well into old age and that I have no influence at all in the institution, except for my opinions, the veracity of which can be verified by anyone, whether civilian or military. I believe that we should not exaggerate the non-deliberation of the Armed Forces to the point that in their presence no one could respectfully express an opinion contrary to a certain political vision. If the military were so easily influenced, may God catch us confessed”.
It should be noted that due to Vergara’s statements, the lawyer Luis Mariano Rendón filed a complaint for the crime of sedition; and that the Navy had to apologize to President Gabriel Boric.
