On the arbitrary arrest and criminalization of Pablo Chuñil and his relatives, Mapuche Indigenous environmental defenders

The undersigned organizations publicly express their strongest repudiation of the arrest of Pablo San Martín Chuñil, Javier Troncoso Chuñil, Jeannette Troncoso Chuñil, and Bermar Flavio Bastías Bastidas, which occurred on January 14, 2026, in the Los Ríos Region, Chile.

Pablo, Javier, and Jeannette are children of Mapuche Indigenous leader and environmental defender Julia Chuñil Catricura, president of the Putreguel Indigenous Community, who has been missing since November 8, 2024, while defending 900 hectares of native forest in the commune of Máfil. Julia's disappearance has been internationally denounced as a forced disappearance linked to her struggle for territorial and environmental protection against the advance of large landowners and the forestry sector. The arrest of Pablo, Javier, Jeannette, and Bermar occurs six months after the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) granted precautionary measures in favor of Julia Chuñil, urging the Chilean government to increase efforts to search for her and to share information about such efforts with her family. The arrest also occurred just hours before the family was scheduled to attend the admissibility hearing before the Escazú Committee to present evidence of the State's non-compliance.

We denounce that:

1. The Chuñil family has been systematically treated as suspects rather than victims since the beginning of the investigation, suffering seven house raids, some with officers armed with machine guns, constituting clear harassment and criminalization;
2. The Committee to Support Implementation and Compliance of the Escazú Agreement recognized, in October 2025, the urgent need to protect Julia Chuñil's relatives, activating for the first time the treaty's rapid response mechanism and urging the Chilean State to take immediate protective measures;
3. The investigation has been marked by serious irregularities, including the replacement of four prosecutors in less than a year, blocking of defense access to the case file, prosecutors with notorious bias against the Mapuche people, and selective information leaks;
4. This arrest follows a documented pattern of criminalization against environmental defenders and Indigenous peoples in Chile, especially the Mapuche people, as recorded by the Escazú Ahora Foundation, which documented 82 human rights violations against 47 environmental defenders between 2023-2024.

The arrest of Julia Chuñil's children and relatives, instead of the main suspect identified by the family itself and by human rights organizations, represents a perverse inversion of justice that turns victims into defendants and protects those truly responsible. This case is part of a context of systematic violence against environmental defenders in Latin America, where more than 2,253 activists have been killed and/or forcely disappeared between 2012 and 2024.

We demand:

• The immediate release of Pablo San Martín Chuñil, Javier Troncoso Chuñil, Jeannette Troncoso Chuñil, and Bermar Flavio Bastías Bastidas;
• That the Chilean State comply with the  IACHR's and the Escazú Committee's determinations and protect, rather than criminalize, Julia Chuñil's relatives;
• An impartial, transparent, and effective investigation into Julia Chuñil's disappearance, focusing on the identified main suspect;
• An end to the criminalization of environmental defenders and Indigenous peoples in Chile and throughout Latin America;
• That international human rights bodies monitor this case and ensure due legal process.

We reaffirm our solidarity with the Chuñil family and with all environmental and territorial defenders who risk their lives to protect our common goods. The criminalization of those who defend the land and territories is a crime against humanity and against the planet.

JUSTICE FOR JULIA CHUÑIL!

FREEDOM FOR PABLO, JAVIER, JEANNETTE, AND BERMAR!

STOP CRIMINALIZING THOSE WHO DEFEND THE LAND!

ALLIANCE FOR LAND, INDIGENOUS AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENDERS

MOVIMENTO DAS ORGANIZAÇÕES DE BASE PELO CLIMA

TRIBUNAL DOS POVOS

INSTITUTO ZÉ CLÁUDIO E MARIA

COMITÊ QUILOMBOLA

GLOBAL WITNESS

RIZOMA - INSTITUTO AMAZÔNICO DE EDUCAÇÃO POPULAR

CENTRO DE FORMAÇÃO SABERES KA'APOR

MOVIMENTO ESQUERDA SOCIALISTA - PSOL

FUNDACIÓN PROTEGE LOS MOLLES

CORPORACIÓN CULTURAL EXFÁBRICA BARRIOS BAJOS

NOT1MORE

FUNDACIÓN CHILE SIN ECOCIDIO

PROYECTO VELORIOS

COMISSÃO PASTORAL DA TERRA-REGIONAL PARÁ

COORDINACION JULIA CHUÑIL

ECOLETY

BUSINESS & HUMAN RIGHTS CENTRE

TINTA NEGRA MICROEDITORIAL

ACCIÓN POR PALESTINA SC 

FRONT LINE DEFENDERS