Chilean ex-constitutional delegate found beaten on highway in critical condition

Rodrigo Rojas Vade, a former member of Chile's Constitutional Convention, was found bound and unconscious on Thursday morning alongside Route 78 near Melipilla, approximately 59 kilometers from Santiago. He is currently hospitalized in critical condition.

Passersby alerted Carabineros to the presence of a bound man next to an abandoned vehicle in a vacant lot adjacent to the highway. Upon discovery, Rojas Vade was unconscious and presented severe head injuries. His body had been doused with an accelerant liquid, and political slogans were written on his arms, according to preliminary reports.

Rojas Vade was transported to Hospital San José, where he remains in induced coma due to the severity of his injuries. Patricia Suazo, a prosecutor with the ECOH unit, stated that his condition has deteriorated over the course of the day. "He presented injuries to the head of considerable gravity. As hours have passed, his situation has worsened; he is currently in critical condition, which is why he is in an induced coma at this moment," Suazo said.

The Public Defender's Investigation Bureau, or PDI, has launched an investigation into the incident. Hassel Barrientos, a subprefect with the PDI's Kidnapping Investigation Brigade, indicated that authorities are working with the ECOH team and the PDI's Central Forensic Laboratory to reconstruct the circumstances of the attack.

Prosecutor Suazo outlined the investigative approach. "He is tied at his hands, bound, abandoned, and beaten; therefore there was clearly participation of third parties. So we are initially viewing this as a kidnapping, but also considering other lines of investigation," she said. Authorities have identified multiple investigative leads but have not disclosed further details regarding suspects or motives.

Rojas Vade served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, the body tasked with drafting a new constitution for Chile between 2021 and 2022.