RSF - Reporters sans frontières
RSF - Reporters sans frontières
07/03/2026 | Press release | Archived content
Chile: In historic conviction, judge and military intelligence chief sentenced for spying on journalist Mauricio Weibel
On 30 June, a Chilean court sentenced former judge Juan Antonio Poblete and former army intelligence director, retired General Shafik Nazal, to five years in prison and a lifetime ban from holding public office for carrying out an illegal surveillance operation against investigative journalist Mauricio Weibel. Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which closely monitored the legal proceedings throughout the case, welcomes this ruling as a historic precedent for press freedom.
"Journalists must never be targeted by state surveillance for investigating corruption. This conviction sends a powerful message to Chile and the wider region: intelligence tools exist to protect society, not to intimidate the press or shield networks of power. This decision should pave the way for a thorough review of the democratic oversight mechanisms governing the intelligence services, and effective protections for journalists investigating corruption. RSF welcomes this ruling and calls on the Chilean authorities to ensure reparations are made, effective oversight of the intelligence services is put in place and safeguards are established to prevent this kind of violation from ever happening again.
Artur Romeu
Director, RSF Latin America
Chilean investigative journalist and former RSF correspondent from 2012 to 2016, Mauricio Weibel, was illegally surveilled in 2017 while investigating large-scale fraud involving arms procurement and secret funds within the Ministry of Defence. His investigations enabled the Chilean state to recover nearly 4.5 billion USD (approximately 4 billion EUR) and led to criminal proceedings against hundreds of military personnel. The operation, known as "Operation W," relied on fraudulent court orders to unlawfully intercept his communications.
To conceal the fact that the target was a journalist, the court order listed Mauricio Weibel's telephone number but identified it as belonging to a Bolivian woman who was falsely accused of being a foreign agent. After a six-year investigation, former judge Juan Antonio Poblete and retired General Shafik Nazal, the former director of army intelligence, admitted they had committed the offence under an expedited procedure before the Seventh Guarantee Court of Santiago, the criminal court responsible for safeguarding the rights of defendants and victims, which reviews the legality of arrests and authorises investigative measures.
Following the ruling, Mauricio Weibel told the media that the decision sent a message "not only to Chile, but to the entire world," stressing that investigative journalists "cannot be attacked, investigated or persecuted" for exposing information that is in the public interest.
During the hearing, prosecutor Ximena Chong emphasised that Chile's Intelligence Act authorises intrusive surveillance measures only under strictly defined circumstances related to national security or organised crime. When these powers are used for other purposes - particularly to obtain information about journalists - they must be investigated and those responsible must be held accountable.
Published on 03.07.2026
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