Juan Aliste Vega, a former member of the Lautaro Movement, died at 53 from pancreatic cancer, according to La Tercera. He was serving a 42-year prison sentence for crimes including the murder of police corporal Luis Moyano. He had also formally requested a pardon from President José Antonio Kast.
The Lautaro Movement was a left-wing armed group. According to the same outlet, Aliste Vega had been in Santiago’s Prison Hospital since August 19. His death surprised both the governing coalition and the opposition.
His pardon request had gained support within the Republican Party, the President’s party. According to La Tercera, some of its members saw an opportunity. If they backed this case, they could later request pardons for former members of the security forces convicted of police violence during the social unrest or for inmates at Punta Peuco, a prison where people convicted of human rights violations serve their sentences.
The opposition challenged that strategy and accused the party of using the case as a "bargaining chip". The support also caused an internal split: Deputy Macarena Santelices resigned from the Republican Party.
Following the former Lautaro member’s death, several Republican deputies addressed the issue again. Cristián Araya maintained that any prisoner with a terminal illness who poses no risk should spend their final days at home. He also called on the government to "act more swiftly" in deciding requests for humanitarian pardons.
José Carlos Meza said his party has always advocated humanitarian pardons for terminally ill prisoners. Agustín Romero said humanitarian grounds can justify a pardon. He added that the death "does not erase his crimes or the pain of Corporal Luis Moyano’s family".
The party’s secretary-general, Vicente Bruna, raised the need for a humanitarian pardon across the board for prisoners with terminal illnesses, dementia or similar conditions. He also said the party would continue working with the government on the matter.
Within Chile Vamos, the coalition comprising the Independent Democratic Union (UDI), National Renewal (RN) and Political Evolution, several parties have yet to adopt an official position. Senator Javier Macaya (UDI) criticized the government for pursuing neither general pardons nor individual cases. In his view, "inaction on this matter is the least compassionate and humanitarian approach possible".
Senate President Paulina Núñez (RN) said on Canal 13’s Mesa Central program that failing to make decisions creates vacuums. However, she clarified that it was not her place to tell the President whether to grant pardons.
Pardons have historically divided governing coalitions. Sebastián Piñera faced criticism for commuting the sentences of people convicted of human rights violations. Gabriel Boric was criticized for pardoning people convicted of crimes during the social unrest, some of whom were later caught committing crimes.
Pressure on Kast increased in September. That month, members of the governing coalition began asking whether pardons would come before or after the debate on the 2027 Budget Law, a debate now reopening following Aliste Vega’s death.
