The Peruvian National Police (PNP) has launched motorized patrols and increased the number of police officers in the border area with Chile to prevent the crossing of illegal immigrants, as pointed out by PNP Inspector Edinson Palacios Pérez from Tacna. .
The Peruvian government has deployed 180 national police personnel to prevent the “illegal entry of migrants” through various points on the border with Chile, the Interior Ministry reported.
According to official information, the police come from police stations and specialized units of the XIV Macro Police District in the southern region of Tacna.
They all carry out their duties by patrolling in three shifts on trucks, motorcycles, and ATVs.
“Some of the vehicles are placed in strategic spaces along the border to deter foreign nationals attempting to illegally enter the country,” he added.
This happened after it became known that groups of migrants were gathering in the Chilean-Peruvian border area, as happened last April.
For this reason, representatives of the National Immigration Supervisory Board and the Peruvian Police informed foreign nationals of the mechanism “so that foreign nationals can regularize their immigration status and enter Peru.”
Measures at the border between Peru and Chile
Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Wednesday that about 30 foreigners remain in the region, mainly Haitians, but also Venezuelans and Colombians.
He stressed that these migrants are located on the “Chilean side” of the Pan-American South Highway, which connects the two countries.
Last April, hundreds of undocumented migrants decided to leave Chile, most of them Venezuelan and Haitian nationals.
All of them were stranded in the border area with Peru, in critical condition, without documents to enter other countries in the region.
Amnesty International (AI) said at least 300 people remained at the border between the two countries “in a critical humanitarian situation, without food, water, shelter or medical care in a desert known for extreme conditions.”
Migrant crisis at the border
The situation began to change in early May, when more than 100 Venezuelans returned to their homeland on special flights.
In addition, police and military regulations on both sides of the border have been significantly tightened.
On May 22, Peru’s Foreign Minister Ignacio Higueras and Chile’s Foreign Minister Gloria de la Fuente affirmed in Lima that thanks to the efforts of both countries, the migrant crisis has been overcome.
Higueras asserted that both countries want “orderly, regular and safe migration,” and de la Fuente said a work schedule needs to be planned.
Peru explained that they discussed topics such as improving police cooperation between the two countries and developing a joint prevention plan in case similar crisis situations occur in the future.
They also seek to pay attention to humanitarian incidents at the border and the voluntary return of Venezuelan nationals.
Source: Biobiochile
