SQM Case: Prosecutor Files Annulment Appeal

Chilean prosecutors challenged the acquittal ruling in the long-running SQM case. On 4 September 2026, Valparaíso regional prosecutor Claudia Perivancich announced an appeal seeking the annulment of the trial and sentence issued by Santiago's 3rd Oral Criminal Court.

The court originally delivered its verdict on 22 October 2025, acquitting all defendants. It formally published the 4,356-page ruling on 5 August 2026. The acquittal cleared former SQM chief executive Patricio Contesse, alongside former economy minister Pablo Longueira, former presidential candidate Marco Enríquez-Ominami, and several political aides.

Perivancich stated that the majority opinion violated legal requirements and contained contradictory reasoning beyond normal logic. The prosecutor's office requested that the court refer the motion to the Santiago Court of Appeals to declare the entire trial and verdict null and void.

The annulment appeal targets the acquittals of Patricio Contesse, Pablo Longueira, Carmen Luz Valdivieso, former deputy Roberto León, Marcelo Rozas, Marco Enríquez-Ominami, and Cristián Warner. It omitted former UDI secretary Marisol Cavieres, who had also been acquitted.