Politics · Other · 1 hr ago
Chile’s deputy justice minister resigns amid sentence-reduction controversy
Chile’s deputy justice minister resigned on Friday, October 30, amid a controversy over reduced sentences.
The case involves 56 people convicted of sexually abusing minors.
The sentence reductions were granted by the deputy minister’s department, Chile’s Justice Ministry.
The president’s office announced the resignation.
The controversy followed the reductions, but no further details about how they were granted were given.
No next steps were specified.
Chile’s deputy justice minister Luis Silva resigned amid controversy over sentence reductions granted to 56 people convicted of sexually abusing minors.
The reductions were granted by the Justice Ministry, according to reports cited by the sources.
Silva said he signed some reductions while applying a criterion set by Justice Minister Fernando Rabat.
Rabat said he could not refuse to grant the reductions because he was following a Supreme Court criterion.
The opposition says Rabat had room to oppose the reductions and plans to seek his impeachment.
- Who
- Luis Silva, Chile’s deputy justice minister, resigned.
- What
- He resigned amid controversy over sentence reductions granted to 56 people convicted of sexually abusing minors.
- When
- Friday, October 30, 2026.
- Where
- Chile.
- Why
- The resignation came amid controversy over sentence reductions granted by the Justice Ministry.
Chile’s opposition
Justice Minister Fernando Rabat
Authority to refuse reductions
Chile’s opposition
The opposition says Rabat had room to oppose the reductions.
Justice Minister Fernando Rabat
Rabat says he could not refuse them because he was following a Supreme Court criterion.
Interferencia reported that sentence benefits had been granted to a group of people convicted of sexual abuse of minors.
The opposition announced it would seek an impeachment trial against Justice Minister Fernando Rabat.
Luis Silva posted a video saying he had signed some sentence reductions under a criterion set by Rabat.
Silva resigned, according to the presidential office.
- People convicted of sexual abuse of minors
- 56
- Deputy justice minister
- Luis Silva
- Justice minister
- Fernando Rabat
- President
- José Antonio Kast
- Additional beneficiaries reported
- Three people convicted of human rights violations during the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship
- Dictatorship period
- 1973–1990
2 sources
What people are saying
the State failed the victims of the prisoners who were released