Fraud in the Chilean Army - Milicogate

The former Commander in Chief of the Chilean Army, General Ricardo Martinez, who resigned on March 2, 2022, is under investigation for fraud.  He resigned in order not to be the first active duty Commander in Chief under investigation.  The Special Prosecutor of the Court Martial, Romy Rutherford Parentti, has been interrogating the heads of the Chilean Armed Forces since General Pinochet, in a case known as "Fraud in the Army."  Approximately 54 former heads of the Military have been investigated for using sums of government money reserved for institutional travel for their own personal travel, visiting casinos and throwing parties and in other ways enriching themselves personally and four are considered implicated, including Martinez.  On February 14, 2022, the Supreme Court granted Romy Rutherford's request to extend her mandate to continue the investigation of the case for an additional six months.

The Special Prosecutor summoned General Martinez to her office Friday April 1, 2022 in order to interrogate him as a suspect in the case without the assistance of a lawyer.  Earlier he had sought to avoid having to appear in her office and hoped to testify at his domicile in the military base known as "Lo Curro."  His lawyer filed a writ of amparo (protection of constitutional rights), which was rejected by the Chilean Supreme Court, and after losing there, filed a motion before the Constitutional Court.  Under military law, Martinez can be summoned to declare without the assistance of a lawyer, but he has the right to maintain silence, which he did.  He was also ordered to remain in preventive detention for five days until the status of the proceedings against him were resolved.  He was subsequently released after paying one million pesos bail.

Martinez's lawyer argued that the Special Prosecutor's summoning the General to declare without the assistance of a lawyer violated his constitutional rights and also the American Convention on Human Rights, and he requested the Constitutional Court to suspend the Special Prosecutor's investigation while the protection writ was pending.  On April 6, 2022, by a vote of 3 to 2, the Constitutional Court decided not to suspend the Special Prosecutor's investigation.

On April 13, 2022, the Constitutional Court, by a vote of 4 to 1, declared Martinez's constitutional challenge admissible.  Martinez's lawyer celebrated the win, declaring that the antiquated procedures of the military justice system had to conform to international standards regarding human rights and due process guarantees.  It is not clear whether this decision to let the constitutional challenge go forward will interfere with the Special Prosecutor's investigation.