Chile is set to end the privileged prison conditions enjoyed by former military officials convicted of human rights abuses under General Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship. President Gabriel Boric announced on Monday that Punta Peuco, a high-security military prison housing perpetrators of dictatorship-era crimes, will be incorporated into the public prison network.
Inmates at Punta Peuco have reportedly had access to tennis courts, barbecue facilities, a library and a television room, a stark contrast to the cramped conditions in most Chilean prisons. The facility has long symbolised the preferential treatment afforded to those convicted of human rights violations under Pinochet’s rule, who are often allowed to serve their sentences away from common criminals.
“The fact that Chile has a special prison like this has no justification,” said Boric. “From today forward, Chile will no longer have first and secondary category prisoners. Places will be decided according to security criteria, not privilege.” He described the move as a step towards a more democratic Chile that respects human dignity.
According to Chile’s prison service, 141 men are held at Punta Peuco, with an average age of about 80. Most are former members of Pinochet’s intelligence service and secret police, including Miguel Krassnoff, who is serving a sentence of more than 1,000 years for human rights crimes. The prison service cited security concerns when declining to comment on whether current inmates will be moved or integrated into the general prison population.
The decision has drawn mixed reactions from political figures. Far-right presidential candidate José Antonio Kast, who has visited Krassnoff at Punta Peuco and previously refused to rule out freeing the prison’s inmates, criticised Boric’s announcement. In contrast, communist candidate Jeannette Jara praised the decision, saying the prison “should always have been” a common jail.
Punta Peuco was opened in 1995 to house General Manuel Contreras, head of Pinochet’s intelligence service, and Brigadier Pedro Espinoza, both convicted of the 1976 murder of former foreign minister Orlando Letelier in a car bomb attack in Washington, DC. Previous attempts to close the facility have failed, including a last-minute effort by former president Michelle Bachelet in 2018. Boric confirmed that structural works are under way, and new inmates will be admitted from early next year, when the facility will be renamed Tiltil Penitentiary.
