The Chilean government decreed this Saturday a “state of exception” and military deployment in the border sectors of four provinces in the regions of Antofagasta and Arica, in the north. This following two days of roadblocks and trucker strikes once morest irregular migration.
This is how he explained it interior ministerRodrigo Delgado, following an emergency meeting with the carriers’ union, which demanded security measures and the tightening of borders.
“The state of exception will allow collaboration between the Armed Forces and the police with two focuses: Combat drug trafficking and migrant trafficking,” Delgado said from the city of Antofagasta.
It was precisely the death in this region of a truck driver last Thursday that triggered the protests of the last two days, with roadblocks in various parts of the country and the blockade of a regional airport and several mining operations.
#Antofagasta ???? Minister @RodrigoDelgadoM ????
After the end of the meeting with representatives of the truckers’ unions, the minister gave details of the conversation they had this Saturday: “It was an instance of frank, sincere and direct conversation.” pic.twitter.com/GFTvCODoLr
– Min. Interior Chile (@min_interior) February 12, 2022
In the same way, the Government announced the implementation of the new migration law, promoted by the conservative Sebastián Piñera, which seeks to harden the borders and “order the house.”
Despite the fact that the rule came into force in 2021, the approval of the regulation was lacking, which was published this morning in the official gazette and will allow, starting this Saturday, to speed up expulsions and even make “hot returns”, without a judicial procedure.
“People who want to enter Chile must do so through the door, not through the window, being honest regarding the real reasons for entering”added the minister.
Militarization
The provinces that will be militarized are Arica, Parincota, Tamarugal and El Loa, on the border with Peru and Bolivia. In these places, control will also be reinforced with aerial and terrestrial means: highway radio patrols, motorcycles, helicopters and a lookout plane, reported Delgado.
In these provinces and other areas of northern Chile there has been a strong migration crisis for months with the massive arrival of undocumented people and the holding of anti-migration strikes, transportation strikes and xenophobic attacks.
Venezuelan migration in Chile
Despite the pandemic and the social crisis of 2019, Chile remains one of the most attractive countries to migrate within Latin America. This due to its political and economic stability.
The inclement northern altiplano passes continue to form the main irregular entry route, a pass in which at least two people have lost their lives so far this year and a score since the massive flow began in February 2021.
In Chile there are 1.4 million migrants. The figure represents more than 7% of the population, and Venezuelans are the most numerous, followed by Peruvians, Haitians and Colombians.
