On 19 November a Santiago court judge ordered that Chile’s former deputy interior minister Manuel Monsalve be held in preventive detention on charges of rape, setting a four-month deadline for the case against him to be finalised.
Analysis:
The Monsalve scandal continues to erode the popularity of the government led by President Gabriel Boric. News of the court ruling against Monsalve came late on 19 November, only hours after Boric had returned to the country following a six-day tour that took him to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum and G20 summits respectively, in Lima and Rio de Janeiro. Media coverage of the case overshadowed Boric’s diplomatic activity, with some newspapers describing it as the “darkest day” of his presidency (he took office in March 2022).
- Monsalve, who as deputy interior minister had been one of the most popular government officials with responsibility for security and the battle against crime, was forced to resign on 17 October and was arrested on 14 November after a junior colleague accused him of raping her in a Santiago hotel following a night of heavy drinking.
- In a blow to the government Judge Mario Cayul ruled that the man who had been regarded as the administration’s top security czar could not be released on bail because he was a potential threat to society in general and to his alleged victim in particular.
- Monsalve attended the 13-hour court hearing in handcuffs. His lawyers said he would appeal against the preventive detention decision. If found guilty, he faces a potential prison sentence of up to 15 years.
- Details of the case continue to pose awkward questions about President Boric’s political judgement. The most important remains the 48-hour gap between the point at which Boric was informed of the rape accusation and the point at which he acted to ensure that Monsalve was removed from office.
Looking Ahead: The Monsalve case is set to pose further embarrassment for the government as the lower chamber of congress has set up a 13-strong investigating commission, of which a majority (seven) are members of the opposition.