According to a senior adviser of the Embassy of Chile in Ottawa, the Carabineros and Investigaciones police forces are still under the control of the Ministry of Defence (30 Sept. 1990). Before the military coup of 1973 the police forces were under the control of the Ministry of the Interior, and after the coup the forces came under the control of the Ministry of Defence (Ibid.). A legislative proposal aimed at returning the forces to the control of the Ministry of the Interior was submitted to Congress in late 1990. The proposed legislation, however, has not been passed (Ibid.).

Please find attached two early 1992 reports of the Andean Commission of Jurists (listed below). One of the reports states that the Interior Ministry, through a Presidential Decree of 22 January 1992
would coordinate all the functions carried out by different ministries in the area of public safety. It will coordinate the work of Carabineros and the Intelligence Police through the Defense Ministry and the Gendarmería through the Justice Ministry (Andean Commission of Jurists Feb. 1992, 2-3)

The other attached document provides information on the bills submitted by the President to the Congress, aimed at establishing a Subsecretariat of Security and Information that would coordinate operations by the police forces and placing the operations of the Carabineros under the control of the Ministry of the Interior (Ibid., Jan. 1992).

A 1991 article reports that President Aylwin dismissed "about 100 officers [of the investigative police] for rights abuses or drug trafficking" (Reuters 15 Mar. 1991). The report adds that a regional head of the investigative police, killed by unidentified attackers, had been appointed to the post in 1990 by President Aylwin (Ibid.). The article, however, does not give other details on the line of command or control of the President over the investigative police.

Additional and/or corroborating information could not be found among the sources currently available to the IRBDC.

Andean Commission of Jurists. February 1992. Andean Newsletter [Lima]. No. 63. "Chile: Public Security."

. January 1992. Andean Newsletter [Lima]. No. 62. "Chile: Intelligence Agency Created."

Embassy of Chile, Ottawa. 30 September 1992. Telephone Interview with Senior Adviser.

Reuters. 15 March 1991. AM Cycle. "Gunmen Kill Chilean Police Chief Outside His Home." (NEXIS)

Andean Commission of Jurists. February 1992. Andean Newsletter [Lima]. No. 63. "Chile: Public Security."

. January 1992. Andean Newsletter [Lima]. No. 62. "Chile: Intelligence Agency Created."

Reuters. 15 March 1991. AM Cycle. "Gunmen Kill Chilean Police Chief Outside His Home." (NEXIS)