Police investigators in Punta Arenas seized mobile phones and computers belonging to Senator Alejandro Kusanovic and his chief of staff this Friday. The operation, authorized by the local Guarantee Court, targets evidence regarding allegations that a former legislative aide was forced to return portions of his monthly salary. The investigation is currently in an active phase, and the senator has not been formally charged.
PDI Operations in Punta Arenas
Detectives from the Policía de Investigaciones (PDI) executed court-ordered entry and search warrants at both the parliamentary office and the private residence of Senator Alejandro Kusanovic on Friday. The operation began around 9:00 a.m. The search resulted in the confiscation of electronic devices belonging to the senator and his chief of staff, which are now slated for forensic analysis to determine if they contain communications, documents, or other digital records relevant to the ongoing criminal investigation.
The judicial authorization for these seizures was granted by the Juzgado de Garantía de Punta Arenas following a formal request from the Regional Prosecutor of Magallanes, Cristián Crisosto. While the prosecution reportedly evaluated executing the procedure at the National Congress, they ultimately opted to carry out the orders in Punta Arenas, the district represented by the senator. This decision was made to comply with the special legal procedure that regulates judicial actions within parliamentary premises, which requires advance notice to preserve the autonomy of the legislative branch.
Origins of the Allegations
The criminal probe centers on a complaint filed by Rodrigo Gutiérrez Soto, who served as the secretary in charge of the senator’s parliamentary office in Puerto Natales between March 2022 and December 2025. The investigation officially began in June after the disclosure of these allegations. The complaint, which is being sponsored by lawyer Carlos Abarzúa Villegas, addresses two specific matters: an alleged unjustified dismissal and the reported forced return of portions of the worker’s salary to third parties.
The Fiscalía Regional de Magallanes assigned the case to the chief prosecutor of Punta Arenas, Johanna Irribara Alarcón. Regional Prosecutor Cristián Crisosto confirmed the initiation of the probe, stating that the Magallanes and Antártica Regional Prosecutor’s Office had indeed received various pieces of information regarding conduct being attributed to Senator Alejandro Kusanovic, that the information had been received and an investigation opened, that the case had been assigned to the chief prosecutor of Punta Arenas, and that the matter remained an active case with pending investigative steps.
Legislative and Legal Context
The investigation seeks to determine if there was a mechanism for collecting an alleged “quota” from employees of the parliamentary office and to identify the ultimate destination of those funds. Prior to the criminal investigation, the Senate’s Ethics and Transparency Commission reviewed the presentation submitted by the former official in March, but resolved that it did not correspond to them to issue a ruling on the matter. The current criminal inquiry continues to focus on whether these actions constitute crimes related to the use of parliamentary allocations.
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