The minister of Public Security, Martín Arrau, and the director of the Instituto Nacional de Derechos Humanos (INDH, Chile's National Human Rights Institute), Yerko Ljubetic, clashed sharply in public. The dispute is over the bill known as the Ley Naín-Retamal 2.0 (Naín-Retamal Law 2.0), which extends privileged self-defense to off-duty police officers and military personnel.
According to BioBioChile, the dispute began when the INDH issued a report warning that the initiative could create conditions of "de facto impunity" in cases of excessive use of force.
The bill amends the Código Penal (Chile's Penal Code). Its aim is for off-duty police or military personnel to be covered by this legal concept when they act in defense of themselves, their rights or those of a third party. Privileged self-defense presumes that the reaction was legitimate, which affects who must prove what in any eventual trial.
That is the core of the INDH's criticism: the effect on the burden of proof. The institute had already raised the same objection during the passage of the original Naín-Retamal Law, approved in 2023 after the killing of carabineros (members of Chile's national police).
Arrau responded harshly on social media. "The INDH is once again disconnected from reality", he wrote. He added that the report reflects an "ideological outlook" and a resistance to strengthening support for the Fuerzas de Orden y Seguridad (Chile's police forces).
Ljubetic replied on Friday, October 16, in a video statement. He said the minister's tone was inappropriate between State institutions and that his remarks call into question an essential part of the institute's legal mandate: ensuring that Chilean laws are compatible with the country's international human rights obligations.
The director stressed that the INDH Council approved the report unanimously. "Without security it is impossible to exercise human rights", he said, though he insisted that the police must act with full respect for the rights of all people.
According to sources consulted by BioBioChile, the INDH's legislative monitoring unit prepared the document months ago. It then delivered it to the secretariat of the Senado's Comisión de Constitución (Constitution Committee) as input for the debate.
The bill has support in that committee. Senators Arturo Squella, Andrés Longton and Pedro Araya have agreed in backing the security agenda. Araya (PPD), who chairs the committee, said the INDH confuses evidentiary aspects with the law's real effects, and that the law seeks to give greater legal certainty to police officers acting in risky situations.
The initiative originated in 2023 as a motion by deputies from Renovación Nacional (RN), including José Miguel Castro. On August 11, 2026, the Cámara (Chile's lower house) approved it by 114 votes in favor, 26 against and two abstentions, and sent it to the Senado.
Who wins and who loses? Off-duty officers would gain legal protection they do not have today. For the INDH, the cost could fall on potential victims of abuse, who would face more obstacles in proving excessive force. The bill does not provide figures on cases that justify it.
The Comisión de Constitución will discuss the text next Tuesday and Wednesday. Since it has only two articles, it is expected to be dispatched in two or three sessions. In parallel, the Security Committee will review another bill from the same agenda, which increases penalties for assaults on Carabineros.
