The growing movement of migrants trying to cross from Chile to Peru set off alarms at the border and led the Peruvian Government to declare a state of emergency this Friday in the Tacna region. The decision enables the military deployment in support of the National Police and seeks to contain a growing flow of people trying to leave Chile in a climate of political tension.
According to Peruvian authorities, the measure anticipates a possible wave of undocumented foreigners seeking to leave Chile in the expectation of an eventual victory of the far-right candidate José Antonio Kast, favorite for the December 14 runoff, who promised to expel undocumented immigrants, mostly Venezuelans.
This Friday, dozens of them were stranded along the 150 kilometers that cover the border between Tacna and Arica. A video released by the regional governor of Arica showed entire groups trying to leave Chile through the Chacalluta-Santa Rosa pass, carrying bags and even children in their arms.
The decision came after dozens of migrants in an apparently irregular situation In the neighboring country they reached the border point with Peru with the intention of entering the territory, but were blocked by police agents.
The Peruvian president, José Jerí, had anticipated the decision in Hours later, the decree was approved at an extraordinary cabinet meeting.
The measure will be valid for 60 days in the border districts of Palca, Tacna and La Yarada–Los Palos, and contemplates restrictions on freedom of movement, assembly and inviolability of the home. “The Police maintain control of internal order, with the support of the Armed Forces,” the norm specifies.
The Minister of the Interior, Vicente Tiburcio, traveled to the area and confirmed that fifty soldiers will be immediately deployed to the Santa Rosa border post, while another 50 soldiers will join in the first days of December.
The Radio Tacna channel broadcast images of families walking along the route, some with children in their arms, seeking to reach the international border.
On the Chilean side, the Minister of Security, Luis Cordero, admitted that there is a “concentration of people” who are trying to leave the country and face difficulties entering Peru, although he avoided specifying figures.
The crisis also forced diplomatic channels to be activated. Peruvian Foreign Minister Hugo de Zela announced that Lima and Santiago will establish a binational migration cooperation committee starting Monday to manage the situation.
He stressed that the emergency will allow “immediately increasing police and military presence,” and was categorical: “We will not allow irregular migration, we do not have the capacity to receive more migrants.”
Peru has received more than 1.5 million Venezuelans since 2015 and faces strong institutional and social wear due to migratory pressure. It is not the first time that it has militarized this area: in April 2023 it had already decreed a state of emergency due to the overflow of undocumented immigrants, also on the border with Chile.
On this occasion, the advance of groups seeking to cross to the north has already generated blockades on the Panamericana Sur, lines of trucks and buses in both countries and a growing climate of tension at the border crossings.
