2024-03-05 02:58:17
The Minister of the Interior assured that Venezuela has not yet ratified the cooperation agreement and that both countries still need to name their respective counterparts.
The Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá, rejected the attempts of “those who believe that this is the opportunity to position issues of their interest”when referring to the investigation into the kidnapping of the Venezuelan soldier Ronald Ojeda.
The Secretary of State spoke about the topic after taking part in the second session of the Pro Security Cabinetwhich took place at the La Moneda Palace and was headed by President Gabriel Boric.
In response to press inquiries, the head of the Interior confirmed that the police cooperation agreement with Venezuela is signed by both countries, but specified that “ratification is still missing” on the part of Caracas, “well Chile already did it.”
“All agreements of this type have the same procedure. Firstly, they are signed between the authorities and then they have to be ratified in each country through administrative resolutions. In the case of Chile, that has already been done, and in the case of Venezuela it has not yet been done.“Detailed the chief of staff.
He added that after completing said procedure “counterparts are appointed, who in this case will be police officers“.
In this regard, he explained that “both police officers are part of Interpol and exchange information with or without an agreement. The difference with the agreement is that it is more agile, more executive, more appropriate to the demands of an investigation.“.
“What the agreement does is streamline processes that are very important for Chile and are a high priority. It constantly happens to us that The police capture people whose identity we do not know, because they entered the country irregularly“added Minister Tohá when justifying the importance of the agreement.
Tohá and the kidnapping of Ronald Ojeda
The chief of staff also addressed the questions because progress in the investigation has not been publicly reported of the kidnapping of the Venezuelan soldier Ronald Ojeda.
Regarding this crime, its great seriousness and the public commotion it generates, there are many people who believe that this is the opportunity to position agendas of various types or topics of interest to them. The government considers that when there is a victim who is kidnapped, the only agenda that counts is to protect her, find her and punish the guilty,” said the authority.
He assured that “that is what governs our behavior and Any controversy or diversion of attention is not going to get us off that course.“.
According to the minister, “behind this crime there is violent crime, there is a capacity to kidnap which in practice means taking control of a person’s life, intimidating those around them. This is so serious that it seems inadmissible to us that other types of themes be installed around it. At least, the Executive will not get into that“.
For the authority it is “It is unacceptable that doubts arise regarding how the investigative file is handled.. The file is in the hands of the Prosecutor’s Office and it is also used with the sole aim of finding the culprits.”
“No one who cannot contribute to that objective has access to the folder, and to make any speculation about it We would request the background information, because it is a very serious complaint, not about the government, but about the Prosecutor’s Office.“, he concluded his words on the subject.