Sunday, January 6, 2013
Mapuche Conflict Turning More Deadly; Military Enters the Fray
Extremists belonging to the Mapuche indigenous group are carrying out a wave of arson attacks, including one that killed an elderly couple. Police have arrested a suspect, a man who apparently was shot by the man who died in the blaze. The incident followed an attack Dec. 21 in which a group believed to be Mapuches raided an estate, killing a man watching over the property and wounding his wife. The government responded with special measures, including a special prosecutor, 84 more police in the Araucania region (to 400), a second police helicopter with night-vision equipment in the region and an increase in the number of armored vehicles to ten from six. More importantly, President Sebastian Piñera is putting to use Chile's controversial anti-terrorism law, under which suspects can be held without charge, wiretaps can be set, and other civil liberties can be restricted. Now, Chile's military is involved, if only in a tangential way: The heads of the armed forces have met with police authorities for "technical coordination" and sharing of intelligence resources. The use of troops to fight extremists has not been discussed. So far.
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6 comments:
Hey J.C.!
Which aircraft do you think will be selected for the new Air trainer and attack helicopter roles?
I'd wager that the AH-6i will be chosen. The Army has a comfort level with the similar MD 530, and it's shown a keen interest in the AH-6i. But I would never count out Eurocopter.
Do you think there's any credence to the idea they'll get the Apaches The Netherlands used to lease? (AH-64A)
On the Apaches, I used to think it was a type of weapon that was out of reach for Chile. But if they're purchased used, I can see Chile buying 10-12 of them. Chile has already done a lot of business with the Dutch, so the connections are in place for a deal.
That's interesting about the Apaches, what I really think would be a brilliant purchase would be L-159 ALCA to serve as the new LIFT aircraft. Apparently their cockpits are just like F16 cockpits which facilitates F16 training. I used to like the T-50 but I can see that the L-159 would be cheaper and just as good.
Thanks for all the English language news updates.
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