The limited reach of Chilean intelligence has left space for anarchist cells to operate below the government's radar since 2005. Extremist groups publicly warned of their intent to conduct an attack ahead of a court appeal Sept. 8, for example, but authorities were still unable to stop the attack, which turned out to be the worst bombing in Chile in over two decades. Now, just weeks later, the government in Santiago is discussing security reforms to update its counterterrorism laws and expand the reach of its intelligence agency. Change could come before the end of the year, but it will take time for the reforms to have an effect.
With Santiago working to reform the intelligence and justice systems, the threat to soft targets could get worse before it gets better. Anarchist cells under various names have claimed most of the more than 200 improvised explosive devices that have been planted around banks and state and religious buildings in Santiago since 2005. Of those, at least 133 have detonated, but most were small and inflicted few casualties. However, Chile has experienced more IED attacks so far this year (at least 30) than in any other year in the past decade, and as a result of those attacks, more people have been injured in 2014 than in any year in the past 20 years. It is clear that the campaign of anarchist violence in Chile is escalating.
The first attempted attack of the year came Jan. 1, when someone tried and failed to set off a large IED at a police station in Santiago. No one has claimed the failed attack, but a Chilean group calling itself the International Conspiracy for Revenge voiced its approval. The failed attack featured an unusually powerful IED that consisted of a pressure cooker loaded with gunpowder, TNT and shrapnel. Had the IED functioned, it surely would have killed and injured many police officers. Some 30 attacks followed before the Sept. 8 attacks, with the most significant occurring July 11, July 13 and Aug. 11. All of those attacks featured similar devices: fire extinguishers loaded with gunpowder and set on a timer. The July 11 attack has gone unclaimed, but the International Conspiracy for Revenge said it is behind the Aug. 11 twin bombings at two police stations. Another group, the Chilean faction of the Conspiracy of Fire Cells, claimed the July 13 bombing that occurred in a metro station.
The counterterrorism law currently under review may be modified to enable the investigation of individuals on the basis of suspicious behavior, facilitating the arrest of potentially dangerous ones. It could also lead to tougher punishment for those found guilty. Other changes could make the unauthorized acquisition, construction, transportation and possession of explosives or related equipment a punishable offense. At the moment, the offense warrants only a modest punishment under Chile's gun control law. Tighter control over the acquisition, storage and use of high-explosive materials in the mining industry is expected to keep extremists from creating deadlier IEDs. Yet any legal amendments will not have an immediate effect, and in response to the effort, extremists in Chile could resort to using more powerful IEDs, such as the ones featured in the International Conspiracy for Revenge's Jan. 1 and Sept. 11 police station attacks.
