# Chile President Kast cuts dictatorship victims' support

> Chile's president threatens human rights programs after cutting budgets for dictatorship victims' search and legal aid.
- Title: Chile President Kast cuts dictatorship victims' support
- Summary: Chile's president threatens human rights programs after cutting budgets for dictatorship victims' search and legal aid.
- Keywords: chile, president kast, dictatorship victims, human rights institute, budget cuts, enforced disappearance, Buenos Aires Times
- Source: Buenos Aires Times — https://batimes.com.ar/news/latin-america/chile-president-kast-raises-ghosts-of-the-past-for-dictatorship-victims.phtml
- Author: Axl Hernández, AFP
- Published: 2026-11-13T12:51:13+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: chile, president kast, dictatorship victims, human rights institute, budget cuts, enforced disappearance, news, politics, world
## Mara Peñaloza
Mara Peñaloza, 68, says her partner's disappearance under Pinochet reopened wounds after his abductor was released.

> It reopened all the wounds again: the pain, the anguish, having to think once more about how he died
## President Kast
President José Antonio Kast has praised Pinochet and proposed slashing the budget for dictatorship victims' search.
## Budget cuts
Kast's government plans a 27-percent cut to the National Plan for the Search for the Disappeared and 60-percent cut to memorial sites.
## Human rights institute
Chile's human rights institute faces blocking from filing complaints on behalf of citizens over alleged state abuses.
## Justice minister
Justice Minister Fernando Rabat, who defended Pinochet in a case of alleged embezzlement, signed off on reduced sentences for dictatorship agents.
## Activist warning
Activist Álvaro González warns of a dismantling of human rights issues as Kast's threats appear one after another.
## Key takeaway

Chile's president Kast proposed slashing funds for dictatorship victims' search and blocking human rights complaints to reduce state accountability.