The migration crisis on the border of Peru and Chile strains diplomatic ties

La Línea de Concordia, the border area between Peru and Chile, is the scene of a new migration crisis in Latin America.

The reason? For more than two weeks, dozens of people, mostly Venezuelans and Haitians and, to a lesser extent, Colombians, have been stranded as they unsuccessfully try to cross from the city of Arica, in northern Chile, to Tacna, in southern Peruvian territory. .

The situation comes after the government of Chilean President Gabriel Boric announced that the country’s prosecutors will request preventive detention for all undocumented foreigners who are accused of a crime.

But Lima, which alleges security reasons, does not allow their passage either, which leaves around 300 people, according to Amnesty International figures, stuck in the area.

The tension reached a peak on Thursday, March 27, when the migrants tried to continue their journey by force, which caused some clashes with the uniformed personnel deployed there by both countries.

Many of the foreign citizens point out that Peru is only a transit country and that they are trying to return to their nation of origin. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), most of them, 70%, say they intend to arrive in Venezuela, 11% say they are going to Mexico or the United States or other destinations, and only 5% say who intends to remain in Peruvian territory.

“I am not going to go through the desert nor am I going to run because I am not a criminal. As a human being, I deserve the opportunity to reach my destination, my country, no one can deny me the right to reach my home,” said one of the Venezuelan migrants who are stuck in that region.

Amnesty International urged Chile and Peru to stop the “militarization” in the border area and respect international standards on the protection of migrants and refugees.

“Amnesty International expresses its deep concern about the absolutely precarious situation in which these people find themselves as a result of cruel and dehumanizing policies that violate international standards and the laws of Peru and Chile for the protection of people in need of international protection.” stressed the human rights defense organization.

Peru decreed a state of emergency on its borders

The situation could escalate even more, after the Administration of Peruvian President Dilma Boluarte decreed a state of emergency on the borders with Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil and, of course, Chile.

The measure, which entered into force this Friday and lasts for 60 days, allows the mobilization of police and military to the border region to restrict transit and mobility.

Boluarte declared that the objective is to “preserve internal order” and contain the arrival of migrants. When announcing her decision, the president without evidence attributed the increase in violence in her country to “criminal acts” committed by migrants.

According to the head of state, during the government of one of her predecessors, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, her country allowed free entry of “some 800,000 Venezuelans and as many Haitians who are the ones who are unfortunately committing these criminal acts,” he said.

The Peruvian Minister of the Interior, Vicente Romero, added that to control the situation, his government sent 390 police officers to Tacna, on the border with Chile, to which a contingent of the Armed Forces will be added.

On the Chilean side, authorities in Arica, which borders Peru and is some 2,000 kilometers from Santiago, the capital, also declared a migration emergency on Thursday.

Stalled on the border of the two countries, the migrants face the inhospitable climate that characterizes the Atacama desert, one of the driest on the planet, with extremely hot days and intensely cold nights. Some have set up makeshift tents with blankets, but they lack water and other basic services.

Immigration tension threatens diplomatic relations

The accusations and the risque words have not been out of the tension between Lima and Santiago in recent days.

The Prime Minister of Peru, Alberto Otárolalashed out at the Chilean president when he accused him of “throwing his” problem” with migration to another country.

“What we ask of President Boric and the other presidents is that they solve their problems and not throw them into our country. We are actively talking with the Chilean immigration authorities to resolve a problem that affects both countries,” he stated.

Although Otálora added that the migratory crisis “does not affect” diplomatic relations with his neighboring nation but, on the contrary, “forces” both countries “to actively cooperate”, what is evident is that the disagreements on this matter are growing and have already caused the called for inquiries from their respective ambassadors.

The Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that his country expressed its protest to the Chilean diplomat Jaime Pomareda for the “lack of collaboration” of its police authorities at the border.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Tacna, Pascual Guisa, went further with the reproaches when referring to the Chilean president in harsh terms. “We must not allow an unnameable and irresponsible person to be transferring the problems to the border,” he said.

Given the controversial words, the Chilean Foreign Ministry quoted the Peruvian ambassador, Fernando Rojas, and the Chilean Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá, remarked that the statements by the mayor of Tacna “do not contribute in the slightest to taking charge of the type of phenomenon that we have in front and the role that corresponds to the authorities to handle it in the most appropriate way ”.

From a humanitarian corridor to a prison for the undocumented, the proposals in the face of the crisis

The most controversial initiative came from parliamentarian José Enrique Jeri, from the Somos Perú party, who put on the table the idea of ​​a bill so that foreigners who enter their country without the required documentation are punished with up to ten years in prison. according to statements collected by local television.

At the moment, it is unknown if more legislators or members of Boluarte’s cabinet would support that proposal.

In Chile, the Chamber of Deputies plans to discuss a measure that would classify irregular immigration as a crime and proposes jail terms of up to 541 days for anyone caught entering the country through unauthorized means.

Meanwhile, some legislators are appealing for compassionate measures. The president of the Chilean Chamber of Deputies, Vlado Mirosevic, called for a humanitarian corridor that involves all the governments of the region to resolve the crisis and allow the safe return of migrants, mainly to Venezuela.

The nation’s chancellor, Alberto van Klaveren, warned that there is “a major humanitarian problem in the area” and argued that Boluarte’s decision “increases pressure” on the border.

With AP and local media