Chile.-AMP.- Boric sends the Minister of the Interior to Buenos Aires following the "lynching" at a soccer match.

The central government of Argentina and that of Buenos Aires exchange accusations about possible responsibilities.

MADRID, 21 (EUROPA PRESS)

Chilean President Gabriel Boric has sent Interior Minister Álvaro Elizalde to Buenos Aires due to the "serious" disturbances that occurred last night in the stands of the Libertadores de América stadium, which hosted the Copa Sudamericana match between Independiente and Universidad de Chile.

Boric announced this Thursday that, in light of the "unacceptable lynching" suffered by some of his compatriots, he has urged the Minister of the Interior to travel to the Argentine capital to personally monitor the situation of the injured, as well as that of the nearly 100 Chileans detained.

"There is no justification for violence, from any side, and we will protect the rights of our citizens without prejudice to any responsibilities that may be established by justice," the Chilean president said in X. According to the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 19 Chilean citizens are hospitalized and 101 remain detained due to the riots.

The second leg of the Copa Sudamericana round of 16 match between Independiente and Universidad de Chile on Wednesday had to be suspended as soon as the ball started rolling in the second half due to violent clashes that broke out in the stands and left around twenty people injured, some seriously.

Boric had already spoken out hours earlier after the incident in the stands of Independiente's stadium, blaming both the violent members of both fans and those in charge of stadium security for what happened. "Justice must determine those responsible," he also said on the aforementioned social media platform.

At the time of the riots, the match was tied 1-1 and the University of Chile was winning 2-1 on aggregate.

CROSS ACCUSATIONS IN ARGENTINA

In a statement, Argentina's Ministry of National Security denounced this as "one of the most serious incidents in the history of Argentine soccer" and announced "immediate" action to punish those responsible and to bring them into the criminal case. However, it noted in a statement that, politically, the responsibility lies with the opposition-controlled Buenos Aires administration.

In this regard, Javier Milei's government has detected "serious flaws" in the security system and criticized the police for receiving orders "not to intervene," which "prolonged the uncontrolled violence and resulted in a tragedy." "The order and security of Argentines cannot be subordinated to political speculation or electoral interests," he added.

Buenos Aires Security Minister Javier Alonso, however, stated that the national security official, Patricia Bullrich, "always lies." He claimed in a message on the social network X that security inside the stadium is the sole responsibility of Club Independiente, as the organizer, and CONMEBOL.

The club, for its part, has blamed the visiting team for the outbreak of violence, despite the fact that "unacceptable attacks by local groups" also occurred later. The team, which has maintained that the security operation "fully complied with current regulations and the requirements stipulated for this type of competition," has pledged its full cooperation with the investigation.