Yessica Bonnefoi was released from prison and will await trial in freedom.

The Federal Court of Cassation ordered it. Yessica is a Mapuche woman who lives in Bariloche. She was a member of the Lafken Winkul Mapu community.

April 26, 2024

Yessica Bonnefoi, one of the women from the Lafken Winkul Mapu Mapuche community (Villa Mascardi, Río Negro) accused of usurpation, was released from prison after a ruling by the 2nd Chamber of Federal Cassation and will await her trial in freedom.

Although Yessica is no longer part of the Lafken Winkul Mapu community (which is why she wasn't present during the violent eviction in October 2022), she was arrested in August of last year in Bariloche. After spending two weeks at the Airport Security Police headquarters , she had been under house arrest since September. She is a mother of five and the sole provider for her family. The ankle monitor and constant surveillance prevented her from fulfilling her responsibilities.

The lawyers representing the Bar Association had requested the release of their clients, but the judge had initially denied it. In February, they appealed to the Court of Cassation, and after the Court's response, the judge reversed his initial ruling and ordered their release.

Yessica is charged in three cases. The main case, for which she was under house arrest, is known as “Los Radales” and accuses several members of the Lafken Winkul Mapu community, who have been claiming that territory since 2017, of illegally occupying private land in Villa Mascardi. The Mapuche women evicted and repressed in 2022— Jéssica Bonefoi, Celeste Guenumil, Luciana Jaramillo, Romina Rosas, and the machi (Mapuche spiritual authority) Betiana Colhuan Nahuel—were brought to trial in this case. The oral trial will take place in late June or early July, as confirmed to Presentes by the Lawyers' Association.

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