Chile’s PDI Arrests Suspect in Kidnapping of Ex-Mayor Gonzalo Montoya

Chile’s Policía de Investigaciones (PDI) said it has arrested a 26-year-old Venezuelan national suspected of participating in the kidnapping of former Macul mayor Gonzalo Montoya. The operation was carried out by the force’s BIPE Antisecuestros unit in the early hours of Friday. Montoya was abducted on the night of 26 June and held for three days before being released at dawn on 29 June after his family paid an undisclosed ransom. The PDI described the crime as a “secuestro extorsivo” and said the individual detained is believed to be one of several people involved. Investigators are pursuing additional suspects and expect further arrests. Prosecutors will determine formal charges once the evidence is presented. Montoya, who led the Santiago suburb of Macul from 2012 to 2021, has not commented publicly since his release.