The Santiago Court has declared the complaint against Boric and Aguilera admissible, and the Public Prosecutor's Office must now investigate the alleged "express surgery."

The Santiago Court of Appeals declared the complaint filed by the Fundación Fuerza Ciudadana – represented by lawyer and Republican Party member Raimundo Palamara – against former Minister of Health Ximena Aguilera and former President Gabriel Boric regarding the expedited hip surgery performed on the mother of the former head of the Ministry of Health at the Salvador Hospital, admissible this Monday. By unanimous decision, the court – presided over by Minister Romy Rutherford, Minister Patricio Martínez, and Minister (substitute) Matías de la Noi – overturned the lower court's decision and declared the criminal action admissible. Based on this, the three ministers revoked the resolution of the Eighth Guarantee Court of January 5, 2026 – signed by Judge Karin Mercado – which had declared Palamara's complaint inadmissible. The lawyer accuses Boric and Aguilera of five alleged crimes in connection with the operation performed on December 23, 2025: abuse against individuals, abuse of office, administrative misconduct, influence peddling, fraud against the state, arbitrary denial of public services, and failure to report. The complaint, filed on January 1, 2026, states that "despite the magnitude of the facts and their public significance, there is no record of the immediate filing of a criminal complaint by the Minister of Health; there is no record of any complaint filed by the Ministry of Health; there is no record that the President of the Republic ordered or initiated a complaint, with the Executive limited to political and administrative statements." According to the document, this is "particularly serious if it is considered that public officials have a legal duty to report facts that constitute a crime and of which they become aware in the exercise of their functions, and that under no circumstances does the Constitution or any law allow them to conceal serious facts that clearly have the characteristics of a crime. It should be noted that the deadline was 72 hours, a period that has elapsed since the filing of this complaint." With the admissibility established, the Eastern Prosecutor's Office must investigate the crimes that the foundation attributes to the former officials of the previous government. Furthermore, it will be responsible for taking statements, as requested by the complainant, from Boric, Aguilera, and the hospital staff. Following the decision by the Santiago Court, Palamara stated that "the unanimity of the court is clear; the work that the foundation does in pursuing criminal charges cannot be blocked, nor can it constitute undue protection for those involved. What the Guarantee Court had decided prevented the criminal investigation of these serious facts, and that is incompatible with the rule of law. We positively value the categorical ruling that allows us to pursue that all responsibilities are assumed, and, as far as we are concerned, criminal responsibility." The resolution comes days after a report from the Comptroller's Office regarding the operation of the former minister's mother was revealed. In that document, the oversight body established that the head of advisors to the former Secretary of State, Manuel Nájera, contacted various hospital executives before the mother of Aguilera was admitted. It was also determined that "there are no reasons to justify the preferential treatment given to the patient." Following this, the congressman and president of the Libertarian National Party (PNL) caucus, Hans Marowski, announced that his party would promote a constitutional accusation against Aguilera. Similarly, the head of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI) caucus, Flor Weisse, filed a criminal complaint for alleged influence peddling against the former head of the health portfolio.