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Original article: Crisis en Seguridad: ofensiva de Steinert destapa pelea por el control de la policía civil

The political and media storm surrounding Minister of Security, Trinidad Steinert, and the General Director of the PDI, Eduardo Cerna, following the request for the removal of the Deputy Director of Intelligence, Organized Crime, and Migration Security, Consuelo Peña, arises from a power struggle for control of the civil police and the security apparatus responsible for combating organized crime.

According to an investigation by Reportea, the tension between Steinert and the upper echelons of the PDI is not a recent or isolated incident. In fact, its roots date back to the second semester of last year when the higher command of the civil police detected a systematic operation aimed at discrediting both Peña and Cerna, allegedly involving a group of officers (both active and retired) connected to the state secretary, two of whom were integrated into the government of José Antonio Kast.

Transfer of Officials, Counterintelligence, and Corruption

In January 2025, the then head of Intelligence ordered the transfer of four officials who had worked alongside Steinert during her tenure as Regional Prosecutor of Tarapacá. This move, which incited anger from the now cabinet member, has been incorrectly identified as the source of the conflict.

However, investigations conducted by Reportea—based on interviews with high-ranking sources from La Moneda, the prosecutor’s office, individuals linked to the case, the PDI, and other accumulated data since November—reveal an internal dispute for control of the civil police.

Specifically, the four officials were transferred to different regions of the country just two days after a massive operation against the «Chen Clan,» a Chinese-origin gang involved in transnational fraud, which was dismantled on January 9 in Iquique, Alto Hospicio, and Santiago. The order executed by Consuelo Peña was based on counterintelligence alerts pointing to possible corruption involving those officers.

According to sources from the PDI, the prosecutor’s office, and La Moneda, Peña had information that triggered an alert for potential breaches of probity. Specifically, an investigation was underway regarding a plan to distribute assets found inside the houses raided on January 9. «Although the information available suggests that this alert did not lead to a formal complaint to the justice system, the decision was made to separate the group,» stated the cited media outlet.

On their part, sources close to the four officials (who deny participating in any corrupt activities) indicated that they were aware of being monitored by counterintelligence, and thus took precautions during the operation, such as ensuring their members did not directly participate in the raids.

Steinert’s anger was immediate; she allegedly made several calls to National Prosecutor Ángel Valencia, urging him to intervene with Eduardo Cerna. Nevertheless, the decision regarding the transfers stood firm.

Order for the Removal of Consuelo Peña

Days later, specifically on January 20, Steinert resigned from the Public Prosecutor’s Office to become Minister of Security under Kast, and on March 11, she sent a letter to the PDI requesting information about the relocations of the four officials. The day after receiving a response to that letter, on March 20, she summoned director Eduardo Cerna and ordered him to process the removal of the head of Intelligence.

A high source from La Moneda told Reportea that Steinert justified this order by citing a criminal case involving drug trafficking connected to Consuelo Peña’s son.

“The arguments are practically identical to those disseminated by the group of officers critical of Cerna during the second semester of last year,” states the investigation, reinforcing the theory of a coordinated operation to discredit both Peña and the PDI director.

The Power Structure: ‘The Wolves’ and Information Leaks

The digital report reveals a key element: the incorporation of two PDI officers into the government who, according to high police command, are part of the group that has been at war with Cerna, internally dubbed «The Wolves.»

This group, primarily from the Anti-Drug Brigade (whose emblem features the face of a gray wolf), includes officials who had worked with the then prosecutor Steinert in Iquique and were transferred.

One of them is Marcelo Atala, retired in February 2025 while he was chief of the Antinarcotics Prefecture of the Northern Macrozone. He was appointed by Steinert as head of the Organized Crime Division of the Undersecretariat of Public Security. The second is Paulo Contreras, former Inspector General of the institution, retired by Cerna at the end of 2024, who recently joined the National Intelligence Agency (ANI).

Regarding Contreras, the article highlights that «he was an officer of great trust to Héctor Espinoza, the former general director of the PDI recently convicted of corruption,» who maintained a close relationship with lawyer Luis Hermosilla and with the former chief of the PDI, Sergio Muñoz, who was convicted for leaking confidential information to the attorney.

Both Atala and Contreras were retired after more than 30 years of service, and according to PDI sources, «it is no secret that they were a staunch opposition to Eduardo Cerna’s management.»

PDI Director Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place

The PDI director finds himself between a rock and a hard place, as Minister Steinert and President Kast insist on blaming him for the decision to request the resignation of Consuelo Peña, which Reportea’s investigation refutes.

“Cerna has been summoned to the Security Commission of the Chamber of Deputies to clarify the episode. In La Moneda, it is believed he has two choices: either refute the President—and Trinidad Steinert—and tell the truth, which would result in his immediate departure from the institution, or endorse the version provided by the government, which would undermine his authority with the personnel of his beleaguered institution,” the cited media noted, suggesting that this is the «perfect scenario for those seeking to oust him from the PDI.»

This situation is compounded by another alarming factor: Steinert’s dismantlement of the Strategic Unit that functioned in the ministry, which was staffed by technical personnel and aimed to centralize and coordinate information from various institutions within the Public Security System. “The question now circulating among actors in that system is who will have access to control and manage that information,” the article highlights.

The immediate future of this crisis has key dates ahead. The next Wednesday, April 15, marks the deadline set by the Comptroller for Steinert and Cerna to explain the letter sent by the minister requesting information about the relocation of the officials. There is also the pending possibility of opposition interrogation of the Security minister, after Reportea revealed that, in early November, while still a prosecutor, she ordered not to present an appeal to annul a judgment wherein eight accused of corruption during the pandemic were acquitted, including former regional intendant Miguel Ángel Quezada (UDI).

For the moment, as Reportea warns, in this power struggle for control of the PDI, «the protagonists have not yet revealed all their cards.»

La entrada Security Crisis: Steinert’s Offensive Exposes Battle for Control of Civil Police se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.