Chile advocates international migration initiatives

This was confirmed by the recently inaugurated Chilean Foreign Minister Alberto van Klaveren “There are international initiatives” regarding the migration crisis facing the continent, and especially Chile, whose northern border has been flooded by continuous waves of illegal migrants fleeing repression and poverty.

“By the way, Bolivia is a very important country for us. There are ongoing talks on the immigration issue and we hope that these talks can be strengthened”the Chilean state secretary pointed out.

This after they consulted with the processes yesterday “redirecting migrants” at the border, a “hot return” policy allowed by Chilean law that has been criticized by local and international organizations.

President of the country Gabriel Boriche repeatedly reiterated the need for the establishment of regional coordination to resolve migration flows in the southern cone.

Especially referring to Venezuelan exodus which to date exceeds more than 6 million people, a movement that can be compared to the mass flight from Syria and the attempts to reach Europe via the Mediterranean.

To curb this situation, Government a few weeks ago, the Chilean government carried out a 90-day military deployment on the northern border, especially in the regions of Arica and Parinacota, Antofagasta and Tarapacá – critical points on the border lines with Peru and Bolivia -, in an operation that led to thousands of checks and dozens of arrests .

In recent years, dozens of people have died trying to enter Chili through secret routes into the mountains, a harsh area that reaches high temperatures during the day and drops below 0º Celsius at night.

Colchane, a small town located in the Tarapacá region, in the mountains, at more than 3500 meters above sea level, is one of the main centers of irregular migration in South America, especially the entrance to Chile for foreigners, mainly Colombians, Venezuelans and Haitians.

These dangerous steps continue to constitute the main route of irregular entry into Chile, which despite the pandemic and social crisis of 2019 remains one of the most attractive countries for migration within Latin America for its political and economic stability.

In total, 1.4 million migrants live in that Latin American country, which is more than 7% of the population, and the most numerous are Venezuelans, followed by Peruvians, Haitians and Colombians.