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Pinera said he would send bills to Chile's congress to toughen
penalties against looting, violence and destruction committed
during protests. The penalties would increase if the acts are
carried out by hooded vandals trying to hide their identities.
Chile's worst unrest since the end of Augusto Pinochet's
dictatorship in 1990 has wrought more than $1.5 billion in
damage to businesses and hobbled Santiago's metro system, once
the envy of Latin America. Vandals have looted hundreds of
grocery stores, left much of the downtown painted over in
graffiti and set fire to buildings.
Pinera said he would combat the work of "criminals" by beefing
up intelligence-gathering activities, including more than
doubling to 17 the drones used in Santiago for aerial
surveillance.
"One of the principal responsibilities of the state is to ensure
public order and security," Pinera said in a televised speech.
He added that police and security forces in Chile had "total
support" from his administration.
The political opposition in Chile immediately pounced on
Pinera's announcements. Jorge Sharp, the left-leaning mayor of
the port city of Valparaiso, said on Twitter that Pinera had
missed the point.
"More repression won't resolve the social injustices," Sharp
said. "It will only provoke more violence."
Chile's worst unrest since the end of Augusto Pinochet's
1973-1990 dictatorship has already led to more than 7,000
arrests, and injuries to 1,659 protesters and 800 police
officers, according to authorities and rights groups.
Prosecutors are also investigating more than 800 allegations of
abuse, including torture, rape and beatings by security forces
during demonstrations that have often degenerated into riots.
The unrest has grown less violent in recent days but has shown
little signs of subsiding.
On Wednesday evening, hooded vandals attacked several shops,
cafes and the headquarters of a right wing political parties in
one of Santiago's more upscale neighborhoods.
(Reporting by Dave Sherwood and Anthony Esposito; Editing by
Chizu Nomiyama and Richard Chang)
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