Just hours after a Cesfam in Renca was the scene of a new armed incident, La Moneda will finally have a police presence and armed security guards in the highest risk areas.
Carolina Tohá, Minister of the Interior, reacted to the latest acts of violence recorded in Cesfam and clinics, announcing the presence of police personnel and armed guards in these health centers “from now on.”
The measure was reported after a new meeting of the Pro Security Cabinet in La Moneda, pointing out that this problem is no longer a novelty in different parts of the country, emphasizing that “Officials are not only exposed to violent attacks when there are people, for example, who are wounded by gunshots as a result of a confrontation, but they constantly receive attacks of other types from people who are users.”
The head of the Interior explained that the first step will be to “know well where the greatest risks are. Work has been done that is already very advanced, looking at all the clinics in the country,” establishing five risk categories.
“Based on this categorization, and the urgency of this issue, while other measures are implemented, the president has ordered that we establish for health centers that are in the extreme or very high risk category, 24-hour police presence measures or nights, from now on,” he pointed out.
Violence and terror in clinics and Cesfam
Carolina Tohá’s announcement to install a police presence in the Cesfam was celebrated by Confusam, after This Thursday an episode was recorded in a Renca office, where an individual broke into the premises on a motorcycle and after threatening the officials, took out a firearm.being later arrested by Carabineros.
This situation adds to what was experienced last September in the Cesfam Raúl Silva Henríquez, which was the involuntary scene of a confrontation between rival gangs in the Bajos de Mena sector, which left one dead and three injured, including a 13-year-old girl.
The episode caused real terror among officials, after members of the gang that attacked their rivals, threatened to kill the paramedics if they treated the minor and saved her life. This situation was replicated at the Cesfam Karol Wojtyla, in the same commune of Puente Alto, a month before.
Meanwhile, 24 hours after what Raúl Silva Henríquez experienced at Cesfam, The Granja Sur office had to be evacuated after the arrival of an armed man who arrived to finish off an individual who was being treated for a sharp wound.
A paradigmatic venue is the Cesfam Boca Sur in San Pedro de la Paz, which has been the scene of three episodes of this type throughout 2024, the last of them at the end of August, which ended with unknown people shooting at the health center to try to kill a family group that arrived with their wounded daughter, which caused workers and patients to take shelter from the gunshots.
I am announcing the confusing values of La Moneda
Faced with this series of episodes, The president of Confusam, Gabriela Flores, welcomed the decision to have police security in the facilities that are located in high-risk areas, along with evaluating whether to seek to add the clinics as part of the critical infrastructure project.
“Our voice of alarm about the extreme situation that many health workers and users are experiencing has been heard, let’s hope that everything is effective as this Government has committed. ANDWe will be attentive to the development of this plan,” said Flores.