Santiago.- Following the shooting attack against the deputy director of the Rafey Men’s Correction and Rehabilitation Center (CCR), Laura Ricardo, the authorities carried out a high-impact intervention in that prison, which included an exhaustive search and the transfer of at least 20 inmates to other penitentiary centers in the country.
The general director of Penitentiary and Correctional Services, Roberto Santana, confirmed the operation and assured that the penitentiary system remains on “maximum alert,” while the National Police and the Public Ministry are advancing in the investigations of the attack, which occurred on Friday night and left as a collateral victim the driver of the public transport Crecencio Nolasco Cruz, who died after being shot.
Santana avoided directly linking the intervention to the attack, claiming that the transfers and searches are part of the ordinary security protocols of the prison system.
However, he admitted that the immediate priority is to re-establish control and ensure the integrity of prison staff and inmates.
“We cannot anticipate hypotheses or hold anyone responsible without the results of the investigation. These movements respond to usual procedures, whether by court orders or for strictly security reasons,” he emphasized.
The official also categorically rejected allegations of alleged abuse during the mobilization of inmates and assured that each transfer is carried out under regulations that guarantee fundamental rights. “There is no improvisation or mistreatment here. Everything is done according to protocol. Anyone who says otherwise has to prove it,” he said.
Despite these statements, the operation generated tension and discomfort among relatives of the transferred inmates, who denounced a lack of information and communication. Dayana, wife of one of the inmates, stated that her partner was taken out of the prison without prior notice and without allowing him to make a phone call.
“We don’t know where they are being taken or why, right after an attack. Everything indicates that this is related,” he expressed, while announcing that he will go before the Execution of Sentence judge to file an appeal for protection.
The attack that triggered the security deployment occurred when hooded individuals, aboard a motorcycle, fired at the SUV in which the deputy director Laura Ricardo was traveling, who was unharmed. In the midst of the attack, a bullet hit the driver of route F, Crecencio Nolasco Cruz, who later died at the José María Cabral y Báez Regional University Hospital.
So far, authorities have not reported any arrests nor have they offered details about those responsible for the attack, while Rafey Hombres remains under strict security and reinforced surveillance.
