Chilean riot cops 'seen snorting drugs' before tackling protesters
Chilean riot cops ‘seen snorting drugs’ before tackling protesters during weekend of violent demonstrations which has left at least 11 dead
- A video appears to show three Chilean law enforcement agents appearing to snort some sort of powder before responding to protesters
- Demonstrations turned violent over the weekend in response to the government’s rolled back proposal to increase the subway fare by 4 percent
- The violent clashes have left at least 11 people dead and 2,151 arrested
- President Sebastián Piñera declare a state of emergency on Friday a day before he said the subway would not increase from $1.12 to $1.16
- Officials say the subway system suffered at least $300 million in damages
- Only one train line was operating Monday, providing east-west transportation across Santiago, the capital city
- Rioters clashed with the police throughout Monday, including some who were pictured beating a soldier in the port city if Valparaiso
A shocking video appears to show uniformed Chilean riot police snorting drugs in the street before they respond to violent protests which have rocked the country’s capital.
In the clip, three men dressed in riot gear appear huddled in the middle of the street and are seen to lean down to snort some sort of powder.
The footage was posted online over the weekend, he has not been independently verified.
The exact date which the video was recorded is unknown and it is not clear if government officials have taken any disciplinary action.
As of Monday morning, Chilean authorities were working to clean the wreckage and re-open public transportation in Santiago, the capital city, after violent clashes. which also engulfed several other cities.
At least 11 people have been killed amid the riots and clashes between protesters and law enforcement.
Three men dressed in riot gear appear huddled in the middle of the street and are seen to lean down to snort some sort of powder in Chile
The office of Chile’s Attorney General reported that 2,151 people were arrested. At least 67 cops were injured and 819 people were hurt.
At least three people were found dead inside a building that was looted over the weekend, and another five were discovered dead in a burned down warehouse basement.
Officials also found two bodies early Monday in a supermarket that was torched.
The protest by students began last Monday when hundreds of young people mobbed several metro stations in Santiago, jumping turnstiles in a fare-dodging protest against the 4% increase in fares introduced by President Sebastián Piñera.
Protesters set 78 of the subway system’s 136 stations on fire and damaged dozens of others as part of their action.
At least 110 local businesses were looted and 13 other were set on fire.
The capital city’s subway system, which serves an average of 2.4 million daily passengers, suffered almost $300 million in damages as a result of the riots.
Anti-government demonstrators have been protesting in Chile since last Monday after President Sebastián Piñera announced a subway fare hike before cancelling it Saturday
Protesters returned to the streets of Valparaiso, Chile, on Monday, just two days after President Sebastián Piñera called off a subway fare hike
President Piñera to declare a state of emergency on Friday, placing the military in charge of security in the city of six million following arson attacks and looting.
Soldiers patrolling the streets in Santiago stirred up memories of the military dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, which ended in 1990.
On Saturday, Piñera announced the suspension of the subway fare hike from the equivalent $1.12 to $1.16.
The rollback apparently did little to deter demonstrators from returning to the streets Monday as the protest once again turned violent, with images showing a soldier being beaten by angry Chileans in the port city of Valparaiso.
Hundreds of protesters were defying an emergency decree to confront police and cops responded with tear gas and streams of water to break up demonstrators on one of Santiago’s main streets.
A soldier aims his weapon after a demonstration turned violent Monday in the Chilean port city of Valparaiso
A demonstrator attacks a soldier as chaos littered the streets of Chile on Monday
Rioters set a train on fire at the Elisa Correa train station in Santiago, Chile
Subway service had been suspended in the capital since late Friday and service was extremely limited Monday to the downtown line of the metro providing east-west transportation across the city.
‘I have heard with humility the voice of my compatriots,’ Piñera said before announcing that ‘we are going to suspend’ the fare hike.
City workers combed through the debris of a train station that was looted by angry protesters over the weekend as violent clashes in Chile raised the death toll to eight
A soldier in the Chilean port city of Valparaiso holds his gun as a protester approaches him
Demonstrators clashed with soldiers in Valparaiso, Chile, on Monday morning
On Monday, U.N. human rights boss Michelle Bachelet, a former president of Chile, called for independent investigations into deaths in weekend protests there, citing ‘disturbing allegations’ of excessive use of force by security forces.
Transportation officials in Santiago brought in more than 400 buses to reinforce the city’s fleet Monday morning.
Most schools in the city closed, citing concerns of the safety of their workers and students.
Piñera extended the state of emergency late on Sunday night, saying ‘we are at war,’ against vandals who had turned out in droves throughout the capital over the weekend.
Violent weekend clashes throughout several cities in Chile have left millions of dollars in damages to businesses
Lider, a supermarket in Santiago, Chile, was burned down by looters during a weekend of chaos following the government’s failed proposal to increase the subway fare
A soldier provides security for residents outside a supermarket in Santiago on Monday
Javier Iturriaga, the general in charge of Santiago’s security, said in a televised broadcast early Monday he had conducted an overflight of Santiago and was ‘very satisfied’ with the situation. He said the military would nonetheless continue to provide security.
When asked by a reporter if the country was at war, as Piñera had said late Sunday, Iturriaga responded, ‘I’m not at war with anyone. I’m a happy man,’ he said.
The metro, which suffered multiple arson attacks at stations throughout the city, was operating smoothly during the morning rush, albeit with many fewer people than on a typical Monday morning. Many businesses told their workers to stay home.
Protesters gather Monday at the Plaza Italia square in Santiago, Chile, following three days of violent clashes that have left at least eight people dead
A member of Chile’s elite police squad keeps his distance from violent protesters Monday
Security forces in Chile attempt to detain a rioter Monday as protesters returned to the streets after a weekend of clashes turned deadly, with eight people dying
In downtown Santiago, street sweepers cleaned up broken glass, scrap metal and barricades that accumulated over several nights of protests.
Newly inked graffiti covered the face of nearly every building along many city blocks. Tear gas lingered in the air, forcing pedestrians to walk with faces covered.
Chile’s mining minister, Baldo Prokurica, said on Sunday that the country’s mines operated normally through the weekend.
A union of workers at BHP’s Escondida copper mine, the world’s largest copper mine, told Reuters early on Monday it would walk off the job for at least a shift on Tuesday in a show of support for the demands of protesters.
Chile is the world’s top copper producer.
Copper prices rose to one-month highs on Monday as protests in major producer Chile fueled concern about supplies.
Chilean residents were back on the streets in Santiago, Chile, on Monday, two days after the president rolled back a subway fare hike proposal
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