Chile Applies New Anti-Terrorism Law to Mapuche Youths; Prison Denies Basic Rights

In Wallmapu, Chile, the situation of Mapuche youths Lientur Millacheo and Jaime Huenchuñir—the first individuals in Chile to be prosecuted under the country’s newly revised Anti-Terrorism Law—has worsened, according to their spokeswomen. Both young men are currently held in the Temuco Penitentiary, where their families report that they have been subjected to torture and what they describe as direct political persecution by the Chilean State.

We spoke with spokeswomen Alen Huenuche and Millaray Huenchuñir, as well as attorney Christian Arancibia, who is supporting the families.

Millacheo and Huenchuñir remain in pretrial detention while prosecutors investigate their case under the new anti-terrorism framework—and could be legally held without trial for up to five years. In response, the Juana Millahual and Taiñ Meli Bolil Mapuche communities have issued a call for national and international solidarity, denouncing what they see as a politically motivated judicial process.

Despite being recognized as Mapuche comuneros (community members), the two youths are being held with the general prison population. According to their spokeswomen, prison authorities have refused to transfer them to the Mapuche module, claiming that they do not meet internal prison requirements.

From Criminal Charges to Political Imprisonment

For the families and their communities, this case goes beyond ordinary criminal prosecution. The spokeswomen argue that the government’s direct involvement has transformed the case into one of political imprisonment:

When the government invokes the anti-terrorism law and files a lawsuit, it becomes political imprisonment. These are not common crimes—they are linked to territorial reclamation and the criminalization of Mapuche resistance.

Attorney Christian Arancibia agrees, describing the case as part of a long-standing pattern of state harassment against Mapuche communities. He contrasts the harsh treatment of Mapuche defendants with the leniency often shown toward individuals accused of economic or corporate crimes.

Impact of the Anti-Terrorism Law: Facing 20 to 40 Years

The application of the Anti-Terrorism Law has had immediate consequences for the youths’ right to due process. According to their spokeswomen, the law allowed prosecutors to delay judicial oversight and restrict transparency:

“Normally, a detention control hearing takes place the next day. Under this law, it was postponed for five days. That gave prosecutors more time to investigate, add charges, and seal the case, preventing public access to the hearing.”

The long-term consequences are even more severe. Under the anti-terrorism framework, prosecutors may extend the investigation for up to five years, and potential sentences range from 20 to 40 years in prison—a prospect that has deeply affected the families of the youths.

According to Radio Biobío, the youths are accused of involvement in an attack on a forestry company, including arson, robbery, and weapons possession. Prosecutors have also alleged—through media statements—that the two are members of the organization Weichan Auka Mapu (WAM), a claim strongly disputed by their defense and communities.

Attorney Christian Arancibia’s Assessment

Attorney Arancibia describes the case as emblematic of a broader state strategy involving prosecutors, courts, police, and the military to systematically persecute and imprison Mapuche people. One of the youths, he notes, is only 20 years old and was still completing secondary school at the time of his arrest.

Arancibia links the militarization of Mapuche territory to counter-insurgency doctrines rooted in the School of the Americas, where social and political dissent is framed as an “internal enemy.” He further points out that under President Gabriel Boric’s prolonged State of Exception—now longer than any period outside the Pinochet dictatorship—civil authority in the Arauco Province (where Mapuche land reclamation efforts have been very strong) has been effectively transferred to the Navy.

This environment, he argues, has enabled widespread abuses and the erosion of the presumption of innocence.

Allegations of Torture, Water Boarding and Unlawful Coercion

One of the most serious elements of the case involves allegations of torture during the youths’ arrest by the Navy and GOPE (Special Police Operations Group). According to Arancibia, their testimony describes treatment reminiscent of methods used during the dictatorship:

They were beaten, had weapons pointed at their faces, shots fired near them, and were subjected to ‘submarine’ torture—having their faces submerged in water to induce drowning—while officers laughed, spat on them, and continued the abuse.

Arancibia believes the severity of the charges is intended to obscure these violations and protect those responsible:

The State intensifies the accusations in order to prevent accountability for torture and unlawful coercion.

A Dangerous Precedent Under the Current Government

The case also sets a troubling legal precedent. Arancibia highlights that the five-day extension of detention was applied without the youths being brought before a judge, something human rights lawyer Carolina Changdescribed as unprecedented under Chilean law—even in anti-terrorism cases.

Following recent reforms under the Boric administration, Arancibia argues that the legal threshold for labeling an act as “terrorist” has been dangerously lowered. He questions why prosecutors chose this path when serious charges such as arson already carry long sentences, concluding that the decision reflects a political motive rather than a legal necessity.

Prison Authorities and the Denial of Mapuche Status

Although the court ordered their transfer to Temuco Prison, prison authorities have refused to place the youths in the Mapuche comunero module. Officials argue that the alleged crimes are not “Mapuche-related” and cite overcrowding.

Arancibia rejects this reasoning, pointing to a fundamental contradiction:

The State applies the anti-terrorism law, yet denies that these youths are political prisoners. Their own communities recognize them as Mapuche—sons, brothers, and grandchildren of Mapuche families, with social, spiritual, and political ties to their people.

Originally published in Spanish in Resumen. Translation by Global Ecology Project. For more information and/or to get involved, please visit: https://globaljusticeecology.org/chile/

Editor’s Note

Wallmapu refers to the ancestral territory of the Mapuche people in southern Chile and Argentina. The Mapuche are the largest Indigenous nation in Chile and have long organized for recognition of their territorial, cultural, and political rights. In recent years, Chilean governments have increasingly applied security and anti-terrorism laws in Mapuche territories, a practice widely criticized by human rights organizations for criminalizing Indigenous land defense and social protest. Much of the ancestral territory of the Mapuche people in Chile was stolen under the Pinochet Dictatorship, deforested, and transformed into industrial plantations of pine and eucalyptus.

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