A positive balance was made by authorities in the north of the country, after the first day without a State of Exception but with soldiers guarding the country’s border provinces, in the midst of the crisis due to irregular migration and security that has also mobilized President Gabriel Boric; who will travel to the area next week.
Let us remember that the State of Exception imposed by the Government in the northern border provinces ended this Friday, April 15, but it did not mean the withdrawal of police and military personnel, since it was replaced by decree 265, published during the administration of President Sebastián Piñera, and that allows the deployment of troops and other troops to control irregular migration flows.
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The Governor of the Tarapacá Region, José Miguel Carvajal (Comunes), valued the presence of the Armed Forces in situations alluding to the crossing of irregular borders and migrant smuggling or drug trafficking, highlighting that “the report of the Army, of the general of area, there are 800 people rescued,” according to CNN Chile.
The regional authority also urged the central authorities to initiate coordination dialogues with the governments of neighboring countries, in order to improve and enhance the process of redirecting migrants.
“That today they are guarding the borders (the Armed Forces), leaves us much calmer (…) we have a good evaluation of how it has worked during this time and how it has been possible to contain and resume border control,” said the mayor of Arica, Gerardo Espíndola (Liberal Party, New Deal).
“The migratory crisis was the opportunity for the state to pay attention to protecting the borders. I appreciate that their protection is maintained, which must become a permanent policy and not just an exception,” Mayor Espíndola added on Twitter. .
The mayor from Arica subsequently published a video on his social networks about the detention of people trying to enter Chile, along with the following message: “The migratory crisis has not ended. Here is a report from Radio Uno of Tacna Peru on the detention of 23 people Venezuelans trying to enter Chile. Human trafficking is not ruled out.”
The independent Humberto Flores, community chief of Ollagüe, also described the Executive’s decision as positive and assured that “this leaves us more calm, since it helps us reduce irregular migration, vehicle theft and drug trafficking.”
According to local media Cei News, the head of the Tamarugal National Defense, Brigadier General Marcos Jaque Cereceda, also made an optimistic analysis. “There were more than nine thousand people who were admitted to the redirection process in accordance with what was established by current regulations. Of these, only 688 were received by Bolivia for being their compatriots, and the rest, after passing through the proper controls health workers and background checks by the PDI, were sent to health residences in Iquique in accordance with the provisions of the Law. In this sense, I think it was hard work, sometimes complicated, but positive. of Colchane and realizing the before and after,” he said. And he added that “it was hard work, sometimes complicated, but positive. It’s a matter of looking at the Colchane square and realizing the before and after. The current photograph is totally different from that of a couple of months ago. It is cleaner, there is more tranquility and this is also confirmed by the neighbors. They were strenuous hours of work taking into account the extension of our border, but from this point of view, I continue to make a positive balance”.
It is worth mentioning that President Gabriel Boric will travel to the north of the country for a three-day official visit that will begin next Thursday, April 21 and could last until Saturday 23. The cities and places to visit, as well as The itinerary of the President’s activities in the area is something that is still being evaluated in La Moneda and it is expected that it will be announced next week.
The President’s visit is added to the arrival of the Undersecretary of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve, to Colchane to supervise the work of the police and military on the ground.
