The UDI board met this Thursday with President José Antonio Kast at La Moneda to discuss the failed arrest of Galvarino Apablaza, accused as the mastermind behind the assassination of former senator and party founder Jaime Guzmán. After the meeting, the president extended an invitation to the party's secretary general, Juan Antonio Coloma, to join his trip to Argentina this Sunday and Monday, where he will hold meetings with President Javier Milei. Attending the meeting at the Palace were chairman Guillermo Ramírez, vice presidents María José Hoffmann and Eduardo Cretton, and the lawyer for the Guzmán family, Pablo Toloza, along with Interior Minister Claudio Alvarado.
The meeting took place after the extradition approved by the Argentine judiciary could not be carried out, giving Apablaza time to plan his escape. Ramírez explained that Coloma will travel with the president to meet with lawyers, gather information on the status of the case, and carry out direct actions in Buenos Aires. “For the president, this is a priority issue,” said the chairman after leaving La Moneda, adding that they asked Kast to bring the matter to the table during his visit.
“We asked him to make his best efforts to convey to the Argentine government that this is a priority and that it is really important for us that Galvarino Apablaza is captured, extradited, and faces justice in Chile,” he stated. Despite the frustration over the escape, Ramírez avoided blaming the Argentine government. “We are very aware that Argentina and President Milei's government have made their best efforts to bring him back.
Unfortunately, the timing of the Argentine justice system prevented the extradition from being carried out earlier, which gave him time to plan his escape,” he said. The chairman also downplayed the internal controversy generated by spokesperson Mara Sedini's erroneous statement that Apablaza was convicted when he has not yet faced Chilean justice. “It is a minor issue compared to what this case has meant for the UDI.
Using 'accused' or 'convicted' does not alter the situation. I completely downplay it,” he said. He also dismissed the importance of Deputy Jorge Alessandri's request to consider suspending the presidential trip, stating that the government constantly reviews its decisions and that the trip will take place.
Ramírez concluded by defending the pursuit of Apablaza as a cross-party state policy. “No government has had a different stance. All, regardless of their political color, have pursued the assassins of Jaime Guzmán around the world,” he affirmed.