CHILE has admitted police attempted to cover up the killing of a young Mapuche activist last week as human rights groups call for an urgent investigation and punishment for the perpetrators.

Interior Minister Andres Chadwick admitted yesterday that the officers responsible for the killing of Camilo Catrillanca destroyed cameras they were carrying at the time, despite initially stating they didn’t have recording equipment.

Two senior officers have resigned following the admission.

Mr Catrillanca was shot in the back and killed by the US-trained special anti-terror unit of the Chilean police, Comando Jungla, as he returned from work on his tractor. 

His murder came during an operation in which nearly 400 police officers raided the Mapuche community of Temukuikui as the Chilean government increases the militarisation of indigenous communities.

Mapuche people are deemed a threat by Chilean authorities as they exert claims over land seen as potentially profitable by multinational companies.

Huge demonstrations erupted in towns and cities across Chile after the killing of Mr Catrillanca which were met with violent oppression and arrests by the Chilean police. The funeral procession on November 15 also came under attack, with police firing tear gas at the participants.

Human rights groups demanded those responsible be held to account and called for an end to anti-terror operations in Mapuche communities.

Jailed Mapuche leader Lonko Alberto Curamil Millanao said: “It is not the first time that the Chilean government has treated us as criminals. I know that they assassinated Camilo while he worked on the recovered land. 

“A brother that struggled so much for his land can never die. Camilo will remain alive in our spirits, our minds and our hearts forever. 

“The Chilean government is and will be the only entity responsible for this assassination and its consequences.”