A sabotage was reported on Wednesday morning against a caravan of trucks that lend their services to Forestal Arauco [the Forestry Service of the Arauco forests, home to thousand-year-old trees, and countless other beings] on Route P-150 in the Tirúa commune; this corresponds to the new wave of resistance against forestry companies invested in the zone.

This occurred in the cross of La Campana de Tirúa, where an unknown group of Weichaf/Mapuche blocked the caravan’s path, blocking 15 trucks belonging to corporations Transvía and Transtelco. They made the drivers get down from the vehicles before proceeding to burn the six machines.

This action generated a big stir within the Chilean political class, as much with the opposition as with the oficialista [the official one?], and received criticism from the forestry corporations and forester’s guild, since their work there is backed by police in the El Retiro installations. They also receive support as trucks are escorted in and out of the sector by staff from GOPE de Carabineros [a branch of Chilean police] through armored cars, recently placed there by the government to protect the forestry’s investment in traditional Lafkenche territory.

During the action, there were no arrests, but there were wounds. One woman of approximately 20 years of age, wife to one of the drivers, was shot in her body, apparently when she refused to get down from the vehicle. She was transferred to the Curanilahue hospital where her wounds went from being considered severe to minor throughout the afternoon.

After the attack on the caravan in El Retiro, the Route P-70 was blocked, the route that connects to Cañete. It began with logs from a recent cut, some which were intentionally placed in the road, aimed to impede the arrival of a contingent of the GOPE from Cañete.

As far as the work in El Retiro, this was paralyzed, according to Iván Chamorro, manager of Public Affairs in Arauco, as stated on Radio Bío Bío.

Government Invokes State of Emergency

According to the government’s seremi in the Bío Bío region, Enrique Inostroza, a State of Emergency was declared and transmitted via  Radio BIO BIO.

“We would like to condemn the attack which appears to us to be of maximum gravity, so for that reason instructions have been given by the regional Mayor (Díaz) to the judicial teams so that the State of Emergency may be declared,” signaled Inostroza.

The last time the State of Emergency was declared was for the attempt against Fundo San Guillermo last year, which resulted in community members’ incarceration, two of whom are still in the preventative prison of Lebu.