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Original article: «Esta batalla no la vamos a ganar solos y sin movilización»: María Rivera, abogada de comuneros mapuche condenados en «Caso Lautaro»

By Andrés Figueroa Cornejo

On Monday, July 13, the Oral Criminal Court in Temuco handed down sentences against young Mapuche communal members Pelentaro Llaitul, Juan Carlos Mardones, Luis Menares, Luis Fuenzalida, and Jorge Caniupil. According to the prosecution, they were deemed responsible for an attack on forestry machinery that occurred on November 22, 2022, on a property in Lautaro, La Araucanía Region. The accused endured four years of preventive detention prior to the trial.

Following their arrest and processing, the political prisoners were found guilty on June 25, but the court had to reduce the most serious charges imposed by the Public Ministry, which sought unprecedented sentences in Chile ranging from 51 to 90 years of imprisonment.

Thus, the judges sentenced the individuals to 7 years in prison for arson; 3 years and one day for kidnapping; 3 years and one day for theft; and an additional 541 days for a second theft.

The sentenced individuals will also need to pay the costs associated with the process and a fine of up to 17 UTM. Additionally, Pelentaro Llaitul and Juan Mardones received an extra 541 days of captivity for possession of ammunition.

In the wake of the sentences, one of the lead defense attorneys for the communal members, acclaimed human rights lawyer María Rivera, announced that her legal team is currently reviewing the ruling to determine the best alternatives and actions in the case.

On July 8, during a public forum featuring Rivera, human rights expert Alberto Espinoza, and spokesperson for the Coordinadora Arauco Malleco (CAM), Ernesto Llaitul, María Rivera characterized the trial as a «political trial» against the CAM and the Mapuche resistance, asserting that the goal of the sentences is to undermine the struggle for the recovery of the ancestral territory of the indigenous people.

During the event, Rivera informed attendees that the defense demonstrated that at the time and place of the incidents, the accused youths were far away, participating in a Mapuche ceremony.

«This is a political trial directly against the CAM,» she stated, adding that the severe sentences sought by the Public Ministry aim to send a deterrent and exemplary message to prevent communities from practicing their traditions and to peacefully return the reclaimed territories to extractive capital.

Rivera further expressed that the political persecution against the Mapuche resistance is a state strategy, transcending the current administrative period.

«This is not just about the Kast government, or the far-right; it involves the far-right along with the Frente Amplio government and the previous Concertación government, including the Christian Democratic and Socialist parties. All governments since 1990 have aimed to defeat the Mapuche struggle,» she argued.

María Rivera called into question the independence of the Chilean judiciary and stressed the urgency of raising awareness internationally about the irregularities in the process, stating, «It can’t be that the courts of justice overlook the truth, nor that state powers lack autonomy,» and emphasized that her legal team is convinced that «this battle cannot be won alone. Without the mobilization of the Mapuche community, alongside the working class, youth, and women of Chile, we will lose this fight,» she asserted.

Andrés Figueroa

La entrada María Rivera: «This Battle Cannot Be Won Alone Without Mobilization» — Defense Attorney for Condemned Mapuche Communal Members in Lautaro Case se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.