The Valparaíso Guarantee Court has launched the oral trial preparation hearings for the mega-fires that devastated the region in 2024, a legal process involving nine defendants linked to the tragedy that left 138 people dead.
During Monday's proceedings, the court reviewed the precautionary measures for the accused. The court confirmed that pretrial detention will continue for three of the individuals involved: Maximiliano Véliz, Claudio Gamboa, and Ángel Barahona.
Demands for accountability from authorities
Attorney Felipe Olea, representing the families of the 65 deceased and more than 500 affected property owners, called for swift investigations into the responsible authorities.
Olea questioned the discrepancies in the timing of investigative procedures and requested that the legal process not be limited solely to those who directly set the fires. “All we hope for is that, just as this process is beginning today against those who were the immediate causes of this fire, all authorities responsible for these same events will soon be formally charged,” he stated.
The victims' legal representative warned that justice must reach the levels of power involved in the management of the catastrophe. “We cannot once again target only the most vulnerable, because it is not enough for a few to pay the price while the powerful truly go unpunished,” he noted.
The Prosecutor's Office reported that, once the oral trial preparation stage is complete, the formal indictment could be presented within two to three months.