SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — A former senior official in Chile's government was arrested Thursday on suspicion of rape, authorities said, in a case that has shocked the South American country and dented domestic support for leftist President Gabriel Boric.
Manuel Monsalve, 59, who until last month served as Chile’s deputy interior minister and played a key role in strategizing the country's fight against a rise in organized crime, faces accusations of raping a 32-year-old female staffer in a hotel room after meeting her for dinner in September.
Monsalve has denied committing any crime. He stepped down on Oct. 17 when prosecutors announced they had launched an investigation into the female official’s complaint, touching off public outrage and putting further pressure on Boric, a 38-year-old millennial ex-student protest leader who took office in 2022 promising to create a “feminist government.”
For over two and a half years, Monsalve, a doctor and former socialist activist, was at the forefront of the government's campaign against a recent gang-driven crime wave that has rattled Chile, long considered one of Latin America's safest and most stable nations.
Police on Thursday arrested Monsalve at his house in the seaside resort of Viña del Mar and transferred him by car to custody in Chile's capital of Santiago, 128 km (80 miles) away. He was led in handcuffs by detectives into the station to give a statement.
President Boric, who testified as a witness in the case last week, responded to the arrest of his former top official with a brief post on social media platform X that did not name Monsalve.
“In Chile, no one is above the law,” he wrote.
The rape scandal marks a blow for Boric, whose popularity has declined in the polls and at the ballot box — where right-wing parties gained against the president's left-wing coalition in last month's regional elections, regarded as an important bellwether for the 2025 presidential vote.
Boric's government has come under fire for its handling of the case, with the president waiting two days after the allegations surfaced to dismiss Monsalve from his post and giving a widely criticized news conference in which he revealed that Monsalve had requested to view hotel security footage before the plaintiff had even lodged the complaint.
The prosecutor's office also said Monsalve, while still in charge of public security, sought to use police to investigate the case secretly and reach out to the “inner circle” of the victim, who had worked under Monsalve in the Interior Ministry. Monsalve's lawyers have denied those allegations.
Chile’s politically ambitious interior minister, Carolina Tohá, whose reputation has also suffered from the charges against her second-in-command, promised the ongoing investigation would "bring justice to bear.”
“Only in this way can we provide answers to the victims, restore social trust and reaffirm the rule of law,” she said.
Former Chilean Interior Minister Manuel Monsalve is escorted by Investigative Police agents after he was arrested as part of an investigation into an alleged rape of a female official that led to his resignation, in Santiago, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
Former Chilean Interior Minister Manuel Monsalve is transported by Investigative Police agents after he was arrested as part of an investigation into an alleged rape of a female official that led to his resignation, in Santiago, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
Former Chilean Interior Minister Manuel Monsalve is escorted by Investigative Police agents after he was arrested as part of an investigation into an alleged rape of a female official that led to his resignation, in Santiago, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
Former Chilean Interior Minister Manuel Monsalve is escorted by an Investigative Police agent after he was arrested as part of an investigation into an alleged rape of a female official that led to his resignation, in Santiago, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
SAO PAULO (AP) — A Brazilian Supreme Court justice said Thursday that he believes the explosion outside the court in capital Brasilia was the consequence of frequent far-right attacks and hate speech targeting the country’s institutions.
“It grew under the guise of a criminal use of freedom of speech. To offend, threaten, coerce," Justice Alexandre de Moraes said at an event in Brasilia.
Federal Police are investigating the explosions on Wednesday as terrorism and a violent attack on the democratic rule of law, its director, Andrei Passos, said at a news conference later.
Passos said that the man had attempted to enter the Supreme Court and that it appeared that he acted alone, though the police official indicated he also was viewing the attack in the broader context of extremism.
“Even if the visible action is individual, behind that action there is never just one person. It's always a group, or ideas of a group, or extremism, radicalism, that lead to committing those crimes,” Passos said. “The action, in fact, was an individual action, but the investigation will tell if there are other connections, if there are other networks, what's behind it, what drove it.”
The police director also said the Supreme Court has received other threats via email, without specifying when.
Security camera footage from the Supreme Court, obtained by television network Globo, shows the suspect approaching a statue outside the Supreme Court. As a guard nears, the man throws an explosive and retreats a few steps, then throws a second device and an explosion follows. Finally, the suspect ignites a third device near to himself, causing his death.
Passos said that the man was a native of southern Santa Catarina state where he previously ran for city council, and had been in Brasilia several months.
Celina Leão, the lieutenant governor of Brazil’s federal district, said Wednesday night that the man first detonated explosives in a car in a Congress parking lot, which didn't cause injuries. Then he went to Three Powers Plaza, where the Supreme Court, Congress and presidential palace are located.
Local media identified the man as being a member of Brazil’s Liberal Party, the same as former President Jair Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro has railed against the Supreme Court in the past and specifically focused his ire on de Moraes.
Bolsonaro supporters consider de Moraes their chief enemy. He has led a five-year investigation into fake news and threats against Supreme Court justices, which has led to the ban of some far-right allies and supporters from social media and even some imprisonments. He also presided over the nation’s top electoral court when it ruled Bolsonaro ineligible for office until 2030, finding that he had abused his power and cast unfounded doubts on the validity of the 2022 election result.
Bolsonaro condemned the attack on social media.
“It is high time for Brazil to once again cultivate an environment suitable for different ideas to confront each other peacefully, and for the strength of arguments to be worth more than the argument of force,” he wrote.
Some accuse de Moraes of overstepping in the name of protecting Brazilian democracy from political violence and disinformation. Others view his brash tactics as justified by extraordinary circumstances.
Months after Bolsonaro lost his 2022 election bid, Bolsonaro's supporters stormed the main government buildings in Brasilia, seeking to oust his leftist successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, from power. It was widely seen as an echo of the insurrection in the U.S. Capitol two years earlier.
The Supreme Court has since convicted hundreds of those involved in the uprising for crimes such as criminal association and attempted coup.
De Moraes said Thursday that the explosions outside the Supreme Court appeared to be the most serious attack on the institution since then.
“The country’s pacification is only possible with the accountability of all criminals. There is no possibility of pacification with amnesty for criminals,” de Moraes said.
Earlier this year, de Moraes ordered a nationwide ban of X after clashing with its billionaire owner, Elon Musk, over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation. Musk had disparaged de Moraes, calling him an authoritarian and a censor, even though his rulings, including X’s suspension, were repeatedly upheld by his peers. The platform was reinstated in October.
Brazil will host the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro next week. Passos said that the bombing shouldn’t raise any concerns, given that authorities are already implementing the highest level security possible, including with support of the armed forces.
“I am going this afternoon, shortly, to Rio de Janeiro, where I will personally accompany all actions so we can have the absolute guarantee of security,” he added.
Federal police officers inspect a body outside the Supreme Court following an explosion the previous night, in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Federal police officers inspect a body outside the Supreme Court following an explosion the previous night, in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Federal police officers inspect a body outside the Supreme Court following an explosion the previous night, in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Forensic officers collect a body outside the Supreme Court following an explosion the previous night in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Federal police officers inspect a body outside the Supreme Court following an explosion the previous night, in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Forensic officers collect a body outside the Supreme Court following an explosion the previous night in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
A body lies on the ground outside the Supreme Court following an explosion the previous night, in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Federal police officers inspect a body outside the Supreme Court following an explosion the previous night, in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
