On February 4, 2025, President Gabriel Boric of Chile signed into law a new Anti-Terrorist Law, Law No. 21.732, which sets a new definition of “terrorist,” creates new investigative processes, and establishes stronger sentences for those who engage in terrorist activities.
The new legislation repeals and replaces Law No. 18.314, Chile’s previous anti-terrorist law that was enacted in 1984 during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. The new statute provides a detailed definition of terrorist crimes while imposing harsher penalties on individuals who engage in terrorist activities, belong to a terrorist association, or commit offenses in support of such groups.
“Terrorist Association” Defined
The new law defines a “terrorist association” as any group of three or more people who undertake a sustained action over time to destabilize Chile’s political, social, or economic state structures; influence any decision-making authority; or create fear within the population. (Law No. 21.732, Art. 2.)
The law imposes criminal penalties on any individual who is a member of a terrorist organization, irrespective of whether they have engaged in criminal acts to advance the organization’s objectives. (Art. 1.) Moreover, a person who is not a member of a terrorist association but who commits a criminal activity to further an organization’s terrorist ends can be sanctioned with additional penalties. (Art. 3.)
Criminal terrorist activities include kidnaping, torture, use of explosives and biological agents, acts against members of the military or police, cybercrimes, and destruction of railroad tracks and trains. (Art. 2, num. 1-5.)
The sentences for committing crimes under the law range from five to 15 years in prison. Prison terms vary depending on one’s level of participation within an organization. For example, leaders and financiers of terrorist associations face harsher terms than those who recruit or train individuals for the groups. (Art. 9.)
New Mechanisms of Investigation
The new law enhances investigations by allowing authorities to intercept telecommunications and use an “IMSI Catcher” to identify, register, and monitor mobile phone traffic. This eavesdropping technology mimics cell towers and can uncover a mobile device’s phone number, subscriber information, geolocation, and other data. (Art. 19.)
To employ the new investigative mechanisms, prosecutors must request and obtain an order from a judge. The request must be supported by well-founded suspicions based on determined facts that a person has participated in one or more prohibited activities. Judges may approve requests for 30 days and extend them for additional 30-day periods. (Art. 19.) A prosecutor has three years to investigate the crimes regulated in the new law. (Art. 18.)
Prevention and Public Security Strategy
The law mandates the ministry in charge of public safety to prepare and present to the president of the republic a national strategy to prevent and combat terrorist activities. The strategy must be created in cooperation with different sectors and must be evaluated and updated periodically (Art. 21.)
Reactions
Most politicians approve of the law and hope it will effectively counter rising crime in Chile. Reports state that the new law complies with international standards on human rights. However, some academics have cautioned that the law must be used to prevent terrorism and not to prosecute members of the indigenous Mapuche communities for public protests demanding rights to their lands. Previously, some Mapuche people have faced charges under anti-terrorist laws.
Prepared by Adriana Domingo Cabrera, Law Library Legal Research Fellow, under the supervision of Hanibal Goitom, Chief, Foreign, Comparative, and International Law Division I
Law Library of Congress, March 26, 2025
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