“The Government is not about to apply a State of Exception in the northern zone of Chile, but we do believe that we must use all available resources in the north to guarantee control of the borders, routes and the fight against organized crime”, assured the Minister of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve from the north of the country.
At 8:00 p.m. on Friday, the Undersecretary of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve, and his Defense counterpart, Gabriel Gaspar, landed in the Arica and Parinacota Region on the instructions of President Gabriel Boric. Homework? Evaluate and establish measures to safeguard the border, specifically the Chacalluta border crossing.
As Monsalve explained, the purpose of the trip was the instruction of the president Gabriel Boric, which was to identify how to strengthen the protection of the borders.
Starting at 8 in the morning this Saturday, the two undersecretaries visited the different observation posts on the border. Undersecretary Gaspar stressed that on this trip they will seek to find out about the situation in the area in order to access the “most accurate information on what is happening there and collaborate with local authorities.”
According to the undersecretary, they could see four people crossing the border irregularly while they were at the Beta border observation post.
Monsalve indicated that incorporating the concept of borders and border routes within the framework of the critical infrastructure bill. “Border controls must be strengthened after what happened ten days ago.”
He was referring to an episode that happened on the Chacalluta border. On November 30, close to one hundred immigrants tried to enter the country through that border complex.
He recalled that there are different processes underway. For example, he highlighted two initiatives aimed at having biometric control of migrants. One financed by the regional government, therefore, an initiative of the regional governor, Jorge Díaz. And another that is being carried out by the Ministry of the Interior in conjunction with the Investigative Police (PDI) and an international organization.
According to the Undersecretary, there is concern about what is happening in Peru. “There are an average of seven million Venezuelan citizens who have left their country. If you look at how they are distributed regionally, 6% has arrived in Chile, but close to 18% is in Peru. Therefore, a political crisis can cause people to leave Peru and enter Chile.”
