Jones Huala was sentenced to 5 years in prison for being part of the "Mapuche" terrorist organization RAM

The "Mapuche" leader Facundo Jones Huala was sentenced to five years and two months of effective imprisonment after admitting to the Justice that he was part of the Mapuche Ancestral Resistance (RAM), an terrorist organization investigated for violence and terrorism in Patagonia.

The sentence was ratified by the federal judge of Bariloche Leandro Gómez Constenla, following an agreement reached between the Public Prosecutor's Office, the defense of the accused, and the State Prosecutor's Office of Río Negro, which intervened as a plaintiff.

According to an official report from the Public Prosecutor's Office, Jones Huala admitted to being part of the RAM and was held responsible under article 213 bis of the Penal Code, which penalizes those who belong to groups aimed at imposing their ideas or combating others' through force or fear.

Additionally, the Justice considered it proven that the leader made public statements that constituted an apology for the crime during the presentation of a work of his authorship. The investigation determined that the activity attributed to the organization extended from January 2011 to June 2025.

The conviction represents a new chapter in Jones Huala's extensive judicial record, who had already been convicted in Chile for arson and illegal possession of a firearm. That precedent was also considered in the agreement to establish his status as a repeat offender.

Jones Huala has been detained since June 2025, and the time he has already served in preventive detention will be considered to determine the definitive expiration of the sentence. According to calculations released during the judicial negotiation, he could remain deprived of his liberty until 2030.

The RAM was incorporated into the anti-terrorist registry

The judicial recognition is particularly significant because the RAM was incorporated in February 2025 into the Public Register of Persons and Entities Linked to Acts of Terrorism and Their Financing (RePET).

The measure was enacted through Resolution 210/2025 of the National Security Ministry of Javier Milei, which declared that the legal requirements to proceed with its registration in the registry were met.

Months before being detained, Jones Huala had made public statements in which he claimed responsibility for sabotage and incendiary attacks against infrastructure, companies, and private properties, in addition to defending the so-called “armed struggle.”

Now, within the framework of the abbreviated trial, he formally acknowledged before the Justice that he was part of the RAM, while the conviction also included his public statements considered as an apology for the crime.