海角大神

A bomb blast in downtown Santiago yesterday afternoon injured at least fourteen people, making it Chile's worst bomb attack in decades.

Monday鈥檚 bombing suspects were caught on video surveillance planting the homemade device, which detonated in a trash can in a small underground mall connected to a subway station.聽No one has claimed responsibility for the blast.

The government called it a 鈥渢errorist attack,鈥澛燼nd vowed to boost security. The explosion occurred just days before the 41st anniversary of Chile鈥檚 1973 military coup against socialist President Salvador Allende.聽

鈥淲e're going to use the full force of justice, including invoking the anti-terrorist law," President Michelle Bachelet said. 鈥淲hat has happened is horrible, an abominable act, but Chile is, and will continue to be a safe country.鈥�

Santiago is considered one of the safest capital cities in Latin America, but has been hit by almost 200 attacks or attempted bombings over the past decade and nearly 30 small-scale bombings so far this year, mostly at night. Common targets are police stations, public buildings, and banks.

Terrorism in Chile is聽鈥渁 phenomenon mainly composed of local anarchist groups carrying out small-scale bomb attacks,鈥� according to a 2012 US State Department report.

According to the BBC, Chilean prosecutors are 鈥渂affled鈥� as to who exactly has been carrying out these attacks:

A July opinion poll found that 70 percent of Chileans feel domestic attacks are getting worse, reports the BBC.

An editorial in the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio urged聽the government to use its power to the fullest extent, and to 鈥減rovide concrete evidence that it鈥檚 capable of achieving results.鈥� The editorial called the bombing 鈥渁 turning point鈥� for Chile.

The Chilean government's anti-terror legislation, passed during its 1973-90 dictatorship, is controversial. The law allows the government to hold suspects without charges and allows the use of phone taps and confidential witnesses in investigations, according to The Associated Press.聽

The minimum sentence for terrorist activity is 10 years in prison, and if convicted on terrorism charges, Chileans 鈥渁re barred for 15 years from holding public office, teaching, unionizing, starting businesses, or working as journalists,鈥� according to 海角大神.

Last year, the United Nations blasted Chile for its use of the anti-terrorist law against indigenous Mapuche, the largest group of Indians in South America. Chilean police are accused of implementing 鈥渁 systematic use of excessive force鈥� against the minority in long-running land disputes that have turned violent.

The law has yielded relatively few convictions. Two Chilean anarchists were tried and acquitted for a bombing in Santiago due to lack of evidence. Soon after, they were imprisoned in Spain for their involvement in a bomb attack at a basilica.聽Some anarchist groups have claimed responsibility for bombs in Santiago, demanding the two Chileans imprisoned in the Spanish case be freed.

鈥淲e won鈥檛 allow a small group of terrorists and cowards to affect the lives of the vast majority of men and women that want a safe, prosperous, and peaceful country,鈥� Ms. Bachelet said, following a high-level security cabinet meeting today.