Peru declares state of emergency and militarizes border with Chile

Peru has declared a state of emergency at its border with Chile and announced that they will reinforce customs controls with the help of the Armed Forces in anticipation of an increase in the number of illegal immigrants and to combat crime. This decree was approved by the government on Friday. The measure will remain in effect for 60 days and will apply to the border districts of Palca, Tacna, and La Yarada-Los Palos, in the Tacna region (south). This is in anticipation of a possible influx of migrants looking to leave Chile due to the potential victory of far-right presidential candidate José Antonio Kast, who has promised to expel illegal immigrants.
The state of emergency will also serve ‘to combat crime and other acts of violence,’ according to the decree. ‘The National Police of Peru will maintain internal order control, with the support of the Armed Forces,’ it added. Peruvian Minister of the Interior, Vicente Tiburcio, traveled to the border in Tacna, where he told radio RPP that ‘the state of emergency will be in effect for 60 days,’ starting on November 29. The minister mentioned that fifty Army soldiers will be deployed ‘immediately’ to the Peruvian border post of Santa Rosa. He also stated that another 50 soldiers will join them in the early days of December. Peruvian radio station Radio Tacna broadcasted images early in the morning of migrants carrying children on the highway near the border crossing.
Earlier, Chile’s Minister of Security, Luis Cordero, stated that ‘there has been a concentration of migrants who wish to leave the country and have encountered difficulties entering Peru.’ The Chilean minister did not specify the number of migrants gathered at the site. The ultra-conservative Kast, the favorite to win the Chilean runoff election on December 14 against leftist Jeannette Jara, has promised to deport the 330,000 illegal immigrants, mostly Venezuelans, whom he blames for the wave of insecurity.