The Grupo de Operaciones Policiales Especiales (GOPE) () is the

police tactical unit A police tactical unit (PTU) is a specialized police unit trained and equipped to handle situations that are beyond the capabilities of ordinary law enforcement units because of the level of violence (or risk of violence) involved. The tasks of a ...

Carabineros de Chile The () are the Chilean national law enforcement gendarmerie, who have jurisdiction over the entire national territory of the Republic of Chile. Created in 1927, their mission is to maintain order and enforce the laws of Chile. They reported to ...

which carries out high-risk police operations throughout the country, including location and tracking of bombs and explosives,

bomb disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are disabled or otherwise rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated fun ...

, rescuing people or bodies from places of difficult access, anti-crime raids, and clashes. GOPE is a special force of military uniformed police, as stipulated in the Constitutional Act of Carabineros.

History

GOPE was created on 7 June 1979 with the aim of acting as a complementary force to police troops across the country, and respond to the various situations that occurred in the country during that time period. Its trajectory demonstrates the professionalism of its crew, made up of highly trained policemen to counter the most dangerous criminal activities. Its tasks are supported by the Special Action Patrols (''PAES''), which perform tasks of shelter and protection of citizens.

Jurisdiction

The Special Police Operations Group has jurisdiction over the entire Chilean national territory, including the Insular Area and the

Chilean Antarctic Territory The Chilean Antarctic Territory, or Chilean Antarctica (, ), is a part of West Antarctica and nearby islands claimed by Chile. It comprises the region south of 60th parallel south, 60°S latitude and between longitudes 53rd meridian west, 53°W a ...

. This is to ensure national security and not only state or regional.

Vehicles

GOPE vehicles are mostly used for transporting equipment for the work of the EOD section.

Fields of operation

Their operations can be classified into four different groups:

Counter - terrorism

* Hostage release * Entre and search

Counter - bombing

* Deactivation of

explosives An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...

* Counter bomb search * Post

detonation Detonation () is a type of combustion involving a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations propagate supersonically through shock waves with ...

investigation

Human rescue

* Saturated or contaminated environments * Rescue and salvage in aquatic environments * Rescue and salvage in highlands

Protection of Person of Interest

* Direct security * Altitude security (rooftop shooter) * Reaction security * Search of hotels and installations * Search of vehicles

References

{{Reflist

External links

Carabineros official page
Law enforcement in Chile Organizations established in 1979 Police tactical units Gendarmerie units and formations Articles containing video clips