Country Reports on Terrorism 2007 - Chile
| Publisher | United States Department of State |
| Author | Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism |
| Publication Date | 30 April 2008 |
| Cite as | United States Department of State, Country Reports on Terrorism 2007 - Chile, 30 April 2008, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/48196ccb28.html [accessed 6 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Chilean law enforcement actively cooperated in international terrorism investigations and with the United States to monitor and combat terrorist financing. Law Enforcement officials monitored possible links between extremists in Chile's Iquique Free Trade Zone and those in the Tri-Border Area, as trade links between these two areas are increasing. Chile's National Intelligence Agency remained mostly an analytical body, relying on law enforcement and investigative agencies for the vast majority of collection and operations.
Chile endorsed both the Proliferation Security Initiative (March) and the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (May). In June, representatives from Chile's Foreign Relations Ministry and the two national police forces (the uniformed Carabiñeros and the Investigative Police) attended the FBI-sponsored Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism Law Enforcement Conference in Miami. Chile was an active member of APEC's Counterterrorism Task Force.
Chileans requested FBI support on two domestic terrorism cases. Coordinadora Arauco Melleca (CAM), is a violent Mapuche Indian group in southern Chile that has burnt fields and attacked police while fighting for land it claims belongs to it. CAM appeared to have begun organizing itself more like a guerilla group; attacks late in the year demonstrated increased planning and a more professional use of weapons and tactics. Walter Wendelin, a representative of the Spain-based Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) political branch, traveled to Chile to meet with CAM members. Chilean police were monitoring for possible contacts between Mapuche groups and armed political movements in Latin America.
Grupo de Operaciones Policiales Especiales (GOPE), a 300-person unit of the Carabiñeros police force, served as the nation's primary counterterrorist reaction force. The force was well-trained and participates annually in Exercise Fuerzas Comando, a U.S. Special Operations Command South (SOCSOUTH)-sponsored special operations seminar designed to refine the tactics, techniques, and procedures used by Special Operations counterterrorism forces. A GOPE commander attended a conference in Paraguay this year on "Combating Radical Ideology," sponsored by the Counterterrorism Fellowship Program (CTFP).
