President José Antonio Kast, Chile's far-right leader, has commenced digging trenches and erecting barriers along the northern border with Peru just a week after taking office. He is advancing the highest level of security under the "Border Shield" plan, aiming to eliminate drug trafficking networks and foreign criminal groups illegally entering the country.
President José Antonio Kast, an extreme conservative leader of Chile, visited the Chacalluta border checkpoint in the country's north to oversee the start of the border barrier construction, fulfilling one of his campaign promises.
Under the "Border Shield" strategic plan, the Chilean government has deployed heavy machinery to dig trenches and prepare to install fences, while mobilizing military forces along with surveillance drones patrolling the entire border. Kast described this as a "milestone" in regaining state control over territory that had been violated.
Kast, who was sworn in just last week, explained that over the past few years, more than 180,000 people have illegally crossed into Chile, causing the foreign population to double between 2017 and 2024. It is estimated that currently there are over 300,000 undocumented foreigners residing in Chile, most of whom are Venezuelan.
The Chilean leader emphasized that this measure is not aimed solely at families fleeing political persecution or economic crises but primarily targets stopping "transnational criminal gangs" from abroad that are expanding their influence in Chile. This is in response to violent crimes unprecedented in the country known as the most stable in the region, including armed robbery, kidnapping, and contract killings.
With emergency government powers, Kast immediately issued several decrees upon taking office to tighten border controls and expedite deportation of illegal immigrants. This political approach has been compared to that of former U.S. President Donald Trump, who is also Kast's political ally.
"We have made a clear and concrete decision to close the border to illegal migration, drug trafficking, and organized crime. We want to act on this without delay, not even a second," Kast said while observing excavators at work.
Kast's rise to power marks the most significant shift toward far-right ideology in Chile since 1990, after the end of General Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship—a regime Kast supported since his youth. This hardline policy has raised concerns among human rights groups about its potential impact on the welfare of vulnerable migrants in the region.