The new Regional Prosecutor of Tarapacá, Virginia Aravena, together with the National Prosecutor, Ángel Valencia.
The National Prosecutor, Ángel Valencia, traveled to the city of Iquique to invest the new Virginia Aravena as Regional Prosecutor of Tarapacá, who will lead the region until 2034.
The ceremony took place at the University of Tarapacá (UTA) with the presence of the Undersecretary of Crime Prevention, Ana Victoria Quintana; of the Regional Governor, José Miguel Carvajal; from the Presidential Delegate, Adriana Tapia; the mayor of Iquique, Mauricio Soria; among other local authorities.
The National Prosecutor pointed out that “the citizens of Tarapacá can have peace of mind that there is a regional prosecutor who knows their problems very well, who will work tirelessly for their safety.”
He added that “we are very happy about the appointment of prosecutor Virginia Aravena, who has been working here in Tarapacá for more than 20 years, knows very well its needs (of the region), knows the team that makes up the Prosecutor’s Office and has all the capabilities to lead the Regional Prosecutor’s Office, also considering the complexities of the criminal phenomena that occur here in Iquique and in the rest of the communes,” Valencia said.
Virginia Aravena is a lawyer from the Catholic University of the Santísima Concepción, with postgraduate studies in Criminal Law from the University of Salamanca. She was regional chief lawyer of the Juvenile Criminal Defense Office of Arica and Tarapacá between 2003 and 2004.
She entered the Public Prosecutor’s Office as an assistant prosecutor of the Alto Hospicio Local Prosecutor’s Office, then as an assistant prosecutor, specializing in Adolescent Criminal Responsibility, and later as an assistant prosecutor specializing in violent crimes, crimes against property and homicides. Between 2016 and 2024 he served as chief prosecutor of the Alto Hospicio Local Prosecutor’s Office. From August 2024 to date, he served as Deputy Prosecutor in the Alto Hospicio Local Prosecutor’s Office.
“Today I begin a new stage, where I will seek to motivate prosecutors and officials to re-enchant themselves every day in the difficult but beautiful work that we must do, to remind them of the importance of our work and how each decision we make substantially impacts the lives of people,” said the new regional Prosecutor when she was invested by the highest authority.
