The Oral Criminal Trial Court (TOP) of Iquique, Chile, suspended from his profession the lawyer Claudio Cofré Soto, defender of the Aragua Train in the cases being carried out against criminals from that criminal organization in that country, after submitting his resignation about 10 days before the trial, causing a six-month delay in the case.
Cofré Soto, who represented six of the twelve defendants in the trial of the first Aragua Train cell identified and dismantled by the Chilean authorities, will not be able to practice law for 45 days because his resignation is not considered to be “founded or sufficient.”
This would not be the lawyer’s first suspension, since two weeks ago he was disqualified in Arica for disconnecting from a trial day, according to sources from The Radio.
Why was the Aragua Train lawyer suspended in Chile?
The court explained that “the reasons given by the lawyer for his resignation – disagreement with his clients regarding the theory of the case – do not coincide with those given in his report” of another ongoing oral trial.
They also noted that at a hearing on September 11, the professional did not say anything about a possible resignation and that the scheduling of the trial had “a significant impact on the normal agenda of the court.”
This was dated in May for this September 23, considering an extended duration of at least two months, which Cofré did not take into consideration at the time of his resignation.
The authorities were forced to appoint a Public Defender’s Office to take on the case, which requested a six-month period for preparation. Thus, The trial was set for March 11, 2025.
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