Ricardo Martínez Menanteau (born 24 February 1960,

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

) is a member of the Chilean military and has held the position of Commander-in-Chief of Chile since 9 March 2018, since being appointed by former president

Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018 to 2022. She previously served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 201 ...

after predecessor, Humberto Oviedo, retired.

Early years

From 1972 to 1982 he lived with his family in

Quillota Quillota is a city located in the Aconcagua River valley in central Chile's Valparaíso Region. It is the capital and largest city of Quillota Province, where many inhabitants live in the outlying farming areas of San Isidro, La Palma, Pococ ...

due of the transfer of his father, Carlos Martínez Aguirre, who was a colonel in the Chilean army. He studied at the Rafael Ariztía Institute in Quillota, the same school as former president and commander-in-chief of Chile, General Augusto Pinochet. He was raised

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

by his family.

Military career

He entered the Liberator

Bernardo O'Higgins Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (; August 20, 1778 – October 24, 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque-Spanish and Irish ancestry. Alth ...

Military School in 1976, graduating as a lieutenant in infantry weapons on 1 January 1980. He holds a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Business Administration from the

Adolfo Ibáñez University The Adolfo Ibáñez University ( es, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez) (UAI) is a private research university in Santiago, Chile associated with the Adolfo Ibáñez Foundation. In 1988, in accordance with new educational legislation, a university was ...

, A diploma in Hemispheric Defense and Security from the Inter-American Defense College in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and a Diploma in Joint Operations from the Institute for Hemispheric Security Cooperation also in the United States.

Ranks

1976: Cadet (Military School) 1979:

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

1980: Second lieutenant 1985:

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

1990: Captain 1994: Major 2000: Lieutenant colonel 2006:

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

2010:

Brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

2013: Divisional general 2018:

Army General Army general is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System.　 In countries that adopt the general officer four rank system, it is rank of general commanding an army in the field, but in coun ...

/ Commander-in-chief

Controversies

Foreign trips

According to an investigation by

Radio Bío Bío Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitt ...

published on 4 January, during the period in which Martinez served as Deputy Chief of Staff (2014-2015) with the rank of Brigadier General, he recorded 30 trips to different regions of the country and abroad, bound for the United States, Africa, Europe and Central America. The cost of these trips was 120 million pesos, including the payment of travel expenses and air tickets which he spend public money on. The Ministry of Defense pointed out that Martinez informed the government of his total willingness to open his financial statements so that they could be audited by the government authorities.

Illegal weapons sales

After participating in a supposedly private meeting with about 900 officers, on November 20. Martinez admitted that he knew information about links between officers and organized crime. The speech was recorded by one of the attendees of the meeting and was later filtered by The Clinic, on 22 November 2018. As a result of this, he attended the

Palacio de La Moneda Palacio de La Moneda (, ''Palace of the Mint''), or simply La Moneda, is the seat of the President of the Republic of Chile. It also houses the offices of three cabinet ministers: Interior, General Secretariat of the Presidency and General Secre ...

that day on in the early hours of the morning, when Minister of Defense, Alberto Espina, spoke to him as a "''matter of urgency''", before his testimony. On 27 November, he was summoned to testify before the presidents of the Defense Commissions of the National Congress, about the alleged illegal sale of weapons. Martínez began his testimony by announcing legal actions against those responsible for recording his speech at the Military School, which he described as "''illegal''" and later leaked to The Clinic. On December 4, he testified before prosecutor Raúl Guzmán.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martínez Menanteau, Ricardo Chilean Army generals Chilean Army Chilean Army enlisted personnel 1960 births Living people