In Chile, foreigners in the crosshairs of the authorities in the face of rising crime

A man holds a sign depicting General Pinochet, which reads: "We want order," during a protest after the killing of police officer Daniel Palma, in Baquedano Square in Santiago, Chile, Thursday, April 6, 2023. AP - Esteban Felix

Text by: RFI Follow

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After the death of three policemen in one month, the government of Gabriel Boric, for whom the security issue was not a priority, had to review its agenda. A range of measures have been announced to address the increase in violence in the country. And some are aimed at foreigners.

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With our correspondent in Santiago de Chile, Naïla Derroisné

In Chile, in less than a month, three police officers were killed in the line of duty. This is unusual in this Latin American country. One was hit by a car and the other two died after being shot. In two of these three cases, the alleged culprits are not Chileans.

A few hours after the death of the third police officer, the media widely circulated the photo of two wanted suspects, of foreign origin. In the aftermath, the prosecutor's office announced that from now on, in Santiago, prosecutors will request systematic preventive detention for undocumented foreigners arrested by the police. A novel process.

For some time now, Chile has been facing a massive influx of migrants, often who entered the country illegally. "Chile has been subjected to a very intense migration process," says Claudio González, director of the Center for Public Security Studies at the University of Chile's Faculty of Government. The first thing is that the migrants who arrive in the country are not integrated by Chilean society. So there is social segregation and this generates conflict and delinquency.

Crime on the rise

According to a government crime prevention body, in 2022, homicides increased by 33.4% compared to the previous year, which represents the second largest variation in Latin America after Ecuador, where they increased by more than 80%. According to several surveys, delinquency is the main concern of Chileans.

The researcher also points to the lack of regulation and border controls. "It allowed a lot of organized gangs to enter Chile without being picked up by the system," he says. But it would still be irresponsible to talk about a direct link between crime and immigration, because that is the path to xenophobia and we are very close to it.

According to the National Prosecutor's Office, 25% of the defendants in Chile are foreigners, and half have no papers, which, according to prosecutors, complicates their identification as well as prosecution.

The "law of the easy trigger" for law enforcement adopted

Law enforcement in Chile will now enjoy a "presumption of self-defense" under a text dubbed by critics "trigger-happy law" adopted Wednesday by parliament.

Last week's killing of a carabinieri sergeant, Rita Olivares, riddled with bullets as she exited her service vehicle, accelerated the passage of this law. The text provides that a soldier or police officer using his service weapon will benefit from a presumption of self-defence, which will only be lifted if an investigation shows that he has acted improperly. "This bill provides that when a police officer uses a weapon in self-defense, or to defend a third party because his life is in danger, it will be presumed that the police officer has acted in accordance with professional principles, but an investigation can show otherwise," said Interior Minister Carolina Toha.

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Police officers died to make this bill happen. (...) Protecting our police, giving them more powers, is giving hope to Chileans," said opposition lawmaker Andrés Longton, author of the bill.

The original draft has been criticized by criminal law experts and the United Nations. "It is not in line with international human rights law," said Jan Jarab, UN human rights adviser for South America. Some controversial provisions were eliminated during the parliamentary review, such as allowing police officers to use their firearms when attacked by two or more unarmed people.

(

With AFP)

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• Chile
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