Chile criticizes Venezuela for not authorizing flights with expelled migrants

The Chilean Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá, confirmed this Thursday that a plane with 60 Venezuelan migrants expelled from Chili couldn’t take off because Venezuela “I do not authorize” the departure of the flight and the landing in its territory.

“The Government of Chile has made extensive and diverse efforts to allow the expulsion processes to be carried out (…) We are going to take steps at the highest diplomatic level to resolve this problem,” Tohá pointed out.

As previously explained by the undersecretary of the portfolio, Manuel Monsalve, the people were identified, the Investigative Police (PDI) had detained them and the plane had been hired to return them.

From now on, according to the law, they can only be detained for five days, so if they are not expelled within that period, they must be released.

Monsalve announced new measures over the weekend to facilitate the expulsions of undocumented migrants who commit crimes in Chile.

Among them, authorizing the PDI to enter the home to arrest someone who already has an expulsion order issued, and that the appeal period for those who will be expelled be reduced from 10 to 5 days.

In addition, the authority explained that he is preparing a trip to Venezuela that he hopes to be able to complete – he said – before December 15 to reach agreements with the Government of Nicolas Maduro in this matter.

“Every effort is being made to resume diplomatic dialogues, have security talks, propose agreements and meet with them in person”The undersecretary said today about the status of the efforts.

The Government of the progressive Gabriel Boric allocated an increase of 1,400 million pesos (US$ 1.6 million) to hire two commercial flights and additionally have an Air Force flight to carry out the expulsion of foreigners.

As Tohá herself specified on Wednesday, the flights would leave for Venezuela and Colombia, or the Dominican Republic.

The Executive projects the deportation of 2,600 migrants in 14 months, in the midst of the security crisis that the country is going through and that has taken over the political and media agenda.

According to the Undersecretary of Crime Prevention, in 2022 homicides grew 33.4% compared to the previous year, the second largest variation in Latin America behind Ecuador, where they increased more than 80%.

In recent weeks there have been several extortionate kidnappings of high public connotation and the attack with a grenade against a police officer, with foreigners involved in all cases, according to the authorities.

The opposition has warned that if the Executive does not expel 12,000 before the end of the year migrants who already have an expulsion order, will present a constitutional accusation against the head of the Interior.