Aldo Anfossi
Correspondent
The newspaper La Jornada
Saturday, September 7, 2024, p. 23
Santiago. The content of the cell phone of the until recently prestigious Chilean criminal lawyer Luis Hermosilla Osorio, in preventive detention for 10 days after a judge considered him danger to societyhas become a Pandora’s box that shakes the political, judicial and business power elites in Chile.
The seriousness of the crimes and their consequences, in the institutional sphere and in the financial market, constitute multi-offensive criminal acts that ultimately make the freedom of the accused a danger to the security of society.the judge reasoned.
It has been revealed that on the device seized by the Investigative Police (PDI), there are more than 777 thousand WhatsApp messages, which reveal a scandalous practice of influence peddling, conflicts of interest and probable crimes of bribery, graft, trafficking of false invoices, money laundering and tax evasion. The case broke out in November 2023, when an audio emerged where Hermosilla, an associate and a client – now in prison – plot to finance a black box to corrupt public officials and destroy evidence, a dialogue that shows that what was suggested constitutes crimes. The immediate consequence was the dismissal, formalization and arrest of the then director of the PDI, Sergio Muñoz, who provided him with confidential information on police proceedings.
There were more leaks that compete in scandal because they show how the criminal lawyer plotted to influence the appointment of judges – who would later rule in his favor –; of the National Prosecutor trying to impose his favorite, of his relations with the political spectrum, of his collusion with Andrés Chadwick, Minister of the Interior of the late former president Sebastián Piñera, of his lobbying around him, and a long etcetera.
But expectations multiplied when Hermosilla’s defense, led by his brother Juan Pablo, asked the Public Prosecutor’s Office for a copy of the messages and promised to make public everything that is not personal conversations and contacts, as well as with clients, since professional secrecy applies. The rest, as long as it is not professional or private information, to stop what is happening, which are intentional leaks by the Public Ministry, we will try to open the largest amount of information.said.
Defense will publish texts
I don’t know how many pages there are so that we can start releasing them, we are a small group in charge of the cause, we will be there as quickly as possible.he added.
Asked if what will be made public will include exchanges with politicians and members of the Judiciary, he replied that “with everyone because if not they will accuse me of what I am claiming: the cherry picking”That is, it will not reveal specific cases that favor a position. We are going to publish the lists; such judge, such prosecutor, such minister. More information at The Online Conference https://bit.ly/3ARFehl.
