Interior Minister Claudio Alvarado announced today that authorities have identified three student leaders responsible for the assault on Science Minister Ximena Lincolao. The incident occurred yesterday at the Austral University of Chile’s Isla Teja campus in the Los Ríos region.
Lincolao had been invited to the university to participate in an academic year inauguration ceremony. The event was disrupted by a group of protesters who surrounded the minister, forcing her to remain under guard for nearly three hours before she was finally able to leave the campus.
President José Antonio Kast’s administration has announced it will file a formal criminal complaint regarding the incident. Alvarado, speaking to Radio Duna, condemned the violence and confirmed that investigators have pinpointed the primary agitators.
“Today during the morning, I was informed that the three leaders who had the greatest participation have been identified,” Alvarado said. “Obviously, we will have to wait for their subsequent detention.”
University security questioned
Minister Alvarado placed significant blame on the university administration for failing to protect the minister. He noted that the institution was aware of the planned protest beforehand and failed to implement adequate security measures.
“When someone invites a person into their home, they must provide the guarantees and conditions for that person to feel comfortable,” Alvarado stated. “We see that a situation that was foreseeable due to the previous environment was met with no precautions.”
He argued that the university has a responsibility to assess the campus climate and either bolster security or suspend activities if a threat to a guest is identified. He emphasized that the university must not expose invited officials to such dangers.
Alvarado called on the university to join the government’s criminal complaint and to take internal disciplinary action against the students involved. He warned that the institution must not minimize the event or "turn a blind eye" to the aggression.
“I hope the investigation advances quickly and that those responsible are sanctioned,” the minister said. “We need to understand that education is for forming professionals, not for forming violent political activists.”
