Chile’s newly elected President Jose Antonio Kast has begun delivering on his tough immigration campaign promises, with officials announcing Thursday that the country conducted its first deportation flight since he took office.
According to Deputy Interior Minister Maximo Pavez, the aircraft departed from Iquique in northern Chile carrying 40 foreign nationals who were returned to Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador.
Officials refused to disclose how frequently these deportation operations will occur going forward.
“This flight, the first of many, is part of a commitment and an immigration reform plan that we have been working on since this government took office on March 11,” Pavez told the media. “From now on, we will intensify these measures through a planned approach.”
Government records show that among those removed from the country, 15 individuals had been ordered deported by courts due to criminal convictions for offenses such as theft and narcotics violations, while the remaining 25 faced administrative immigration violations.
During his presidential campaign, Kast frequently connected unauthorized immigration with increasing criminal activity and has since called on undocumented immigrants to depart voluntarily or face forced removal.
Chile’s immigration service director Frank Sauerbaum reported that 2,180 Venezuelan nationals have chosen to leave Chile voluntarily since Kast won the election.
