Nearly 10,000 soldiers have been deployed while an overnight curfew was imposed on Santiago and a state of emergency called in three regions. They were the first deaths in the worst unrest since Chile returned to democracy in 1990, following the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. Protesters set fire to buses, smashed up metro stations, knocked down traffic lights, ransacked shops and clashed with riot police in Santiago and other cities. Louis de Grange, president of the state Metro S.A. company, told Canal 13 the "brutal destruction" of Santiago's metro service had caused more than $300 million in damages. On Friday, the headquarters of the ENEL Chile power company and a Banco Chile branch -- both in the center of Santiago -- were set on fire and heavily damaged.

Source: Mint October 20, 2019 15:56 UTC