Trinidad Steinert

María Trinidad Steinert Herrera (born 7 August 1970) is a Chilean lawyer, prosecutor, and politician. She served as Regional Prosecutor (Fiscal Regional) of Tarapacá from February 2024 until her resignation in January 2026. Since 11 March 2026, she has served as Minister of Public Security in the government of President José Antonio Kast, becoming the first woman to hold that office in Chile.

Her work at the Public Ministry of Chile has focused on the prosecution of organized crime and related offenses, including cases linked to irregular migration and human trafficking in northern Chile. On May 19, she was removed from her post and replaced by Martín Arrau.

Education Steinert studied law at the Central University of Chile and qualified as an attorney before the Supreme Court of Chile. She later completed a master's degree in Chilean criminal procedure reform (Reforma Procesal Penal) at the same institution, with a focus on the accusatorial system and strategic criminal prosecution.

Public Ministry In 2005, Steinert joined the Public Ministry of Chile as a prosecutor (fiscal) at the Southern Metropolitan Regional Prosecutor's Office, beginning her career in criminal prosecution within the Chilean accusatorial system.

In 2021, she moved to the Arica y Parinacota Region as a deputy regional prosecutor (fiscal adjunta regional), where she specialized in cases connected to irregular migration, human trafficking, and transnational organized crime.

She has also taught criminal law and criminal procedure at the Escuela de Investigaciones Policiales of the Investigations Police of Chile and at the Universidad de Tarapacá, contributing to the training of police officers and university students. Her appointment was widely interpreted as recognition of her experience in criminal prosecution and organized crime, particularly in northern Chile.