Fabián Gonzalo Barrientos Andrade, the 38-year-old former regional ministerial secretary of health for the Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica region, was formally charged with rape by the Punta Arenas Guarantee Court following an investigation by the Policía de Investigaciones (PDI). According to a five-page voluntary statement given by Barrientos on July 27, 2026, to the PDI’s Sexual Offenses Investigation Brigade (Brisex), the charges stem from an encounter with an escort identified as M.L. at the official’s home in Punta Arenas.
The court placed Barrientos under less restrictive precautionary measures, including national travel restrictions and a prohibition on approaching the victim. Prosecutors and investigators from the PDI’s Criminalistics Laboratory (Lacrim) have gathered evidence from the residence as the initial investigation unfolds.
Background of the Relationship Between Barrientos and M.L.
According to Barrientos’s statement to detectives, he and M.L. first met in 2023 at sexual diversity venues in Santiago’s Barrio Bellavista neighborhood. The official stated that roughly two months after exchanging phone numbers, M.L. contacted him for help while lost in the capital, prompting Barrientos to send an Uber and offer him a shower and food.
The relationship shifted into a regular client-escort arrangement in 2024 while Barrientos was living in Chiloé after winning a public contest to direct the Hospital de Queilen. Barrientos told investigators that during his work-related trips to Santiago, he would meet M.L. at the Limón nightclub, paying an agreed amount—initially unspecified, later set at $50 mil for a full night—alongside covering expenses and transport.
Did You Know? Fabián Gonzalo Barrientos Andrade assumed his role as the regional ministerial secretary of health for Magallanes and the Chilean Antarctica on March 27, 2026, after previously serving as the director of the Hospital de Queilen in the Los Lagos region.
The Trip to Punta Arenas and Escalating Tensions
Barrientos stated that after canceling a planned trip to Santiago due to work and having his home empty because a relative traveled to Porvenir, he bought M.L. a plane ticket to Punta Arenas on July 22, 2026. M.L. arrived during the early hours of July 23, and the two drank Mistral Ice and had sexual relations, according to the former official’s testimony.
According to Barrientos, tensions surfaced on Friday, July 24, when M.L. grew aggressive and insistently demanded $200.000 in cash, arguing that he had traveled a long distance to see him. Barrientos stated he refused, purchased pisco sour and Mistral Ice at a local shop, and later handed over $30.000 or $40.000 from his wallet during a confrontation where M.L. struck him in the face and threatened to sell items from the house.
What legal measures were imposed on Fabián Barrientos?
The Punta Arenas Guarantee Court ordered national travel restrictions and a prohibition on approaching the victim.
What position did Barrientos hold at the time of the incident?
He served as the regional ministerial secretary of health for the Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica region.
What agency conducted the initial interrogation of the former official?
Detectives from the Sexual Offenses Investigation Brigade (Brisex) of the Policía de Investigaciones in Punta Arenas.
Worth a look