The Santiago Court of Appeal ordered, after the Monday 19 October hearing, that Manuel Monsalve return to total house arrest. The former interior undersecretary had been on night-only arrest since 5 October, after a decision by the 7th Guarantee Court. This is a change of a precautionary measure. It is not a verdict on the merits.

Monsalve is under investigation for rape and sexual abuse of a subordinate. Prosecutors are asking for years in prison. He has not been convicted. He resigned from Gabriel Boric’s government in October 2024, was charged in November, spent pre-trial detention until May 2025, then house arrest in Viña del Mar.

On Monday the appeal court heard prosecutor José Luis Pérez Calaf, complainant’s lawyer María Elena Santibáñez and public defender Víctor Providel. Judges Fernando Valderrama, Christian Carvajal and associate lawyer Luis Hernández voted unanimously. The text is two pages. It revokes the 5 October ruling “because the accused is considered a danger to the victim’s safety”. That is the formula. It is not a verdict on the facts of the main case.

The night-only regime lasted about 14 days. Monsalve’s circle says it expected the accusers’ appeal, but that the lack of reasons surprised them. In August the same court had also changed a precautionary measure, in nine pages, by 2-1. The defence is considering a further challenge, possibly an amparo, hard to run while the measure is served at home.

La Tercera published on 21 October an account of the short ruling. Prosecutors and the complainant also want the oral-trial preparation hearing, now set for March 2027, brought forward. That is a procedural request, not a conviction calendar.

Night had become day. Two pages turned it back. The merits remain open.

Image: Felipe Restrepo Acosta, Courts Palace, Santiago, 5 July 2017, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; the building in 2017, not Mondays hearing.

Sources consulted: The brief Santiago court ruling that sent Monsalve back to total house arrest - La Tercera, 21 October 2026; Manuel Monsalve returns to total house arrest after the Court of Appeal ruling - T13, 19 October 2026.