In Chubut Province, Argentina, members of the Mapuche indigenous community of Lof Newentuaiñ Inchin in Costa de Lepa face new legal accusations. A businessman, Aldo Duscher, claimed to have purchased the land where the community lives and accused its members of usurpation and theft of their own livestock and tools. The community's lawyers, particularly Luis Virgilio Sánchez from 'La Gremial' lawyers' association, successfully challenged these accusations in court. The prosecutor attempted to charge the community members with 'robbery in a group,' which carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, and also requested their arrest and eviction. However, the judge rejected these requests, and all four detainees were released with the sole condition of not approaching the site of the conflict for 60 days. This situation is typical in Argentina, where legal cases against indigenous communities often follow a similar pattern, accusing them of fictional crimes to justify repression. Despite this temporary victory, the indigenous people emphasize that the root of the problem lies in the legal uncertainty of their land tenure and new provincial laws that critics say facilitate dispossession.
