The Chamber of Deputies rejected a bill this Wednesday that would have empowered the Military Prosecutor's Office to investigate espionage crimes. The proposal failed to secure the 78 votes necessary for approval, resulting in the initiative being shelved for one year, according to biobiochile.cl.
The bill, introduced by Representative Luis Fernando Sánchez of the Republican Party, was proposed in response to the recent formalization of a case involving an Air Force base in Pozo Almonte. In that incident, two Bolivian citizens were detained after entering the base, sparking suspicions of potential espionage.
Proponents of the measure argued that current legal limitations prevent ordinary courts from acting with the necessary speed, forcing prosecutors to limit their scope to violations of weapons control laws.
Tensions over military jurisdiction
The proposal faced fierce opposition in Congress. Representative Andrea Parra (PPD) criticized the initiative, noting that it would allow military authorities to launch investigations that would only be transferred to ordinary justice once it had been proven that the crime was committed by a civilian.
Meanwhile, Representative Lorena Fuentes (Frente Amplio) and former director of the National Institute of Human Rights (INDH) pointed out that the proposal contradicts established Supreme Court jurisprudence. The lawmaker maintained that military justice must remain restricted, participating only in exceptional cases involving civilians.
Representative Luis Pardo (Renovación Nacional) acknowledged that the text could be refined, but defended the concept by noting that other countries utilize specialized systems to prosecute espionage crimes.
The defeat of the government-aligned proposal occurred by a narrow margin. The absence of Representatives Stephan Schubert and Gloria Naveillán, combined with the abstention of Constanza Hube (UDI), prevented the Republican Party's initiative from reaching the required special quorum.
