Chile starts building border barriers with Peru, Bolivia to curb immigration

2026-03-17 - 00:14

Chile’s President Jose Antonio Kast also plans to deploy more military personnel at the borders. (EPA Images pic) ARICA: Chile’s new far-right president began delivering on an anti-immigration campaign promise Monday, as construction began on new barriers at a border crossing with Peru. “Today we begin to stop illegal migration,” President Jose Antonio Kast said as an excavator dug a trench at the groundbreaking ceremony, near the Chacalluta border crossing in northern Chile. Kast has vowed to crack down on immigration from Peru and Bolivia to create a “border shield,” and traveled to Arica, about 2,000km from Santiago, five days after taking office. Chile’s government has set a 90-day deadline for the construction of these barriers, without specifying the type of infrastructure to be deployed. Trenches that are about three meters deep are planned for Arica and other areas on the border with Bolivia, an epicenter of migrant entry, particularly from Venezuela. Interior minister Claudio Alvarado said physical barriers are expected to extend over roughly 500 km. Kast’s plan also includes deployment of more military personnel at the borders. Kast has also pledged to take action to stem the rise in murders, kidnappings and extortion, which he blames on undocumented immigrants. Kast’s election brought the most right-wing president to power in Chile since the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, from 1973 to 1990, who also came to power with promises to be tough on crime and stop illegal immigration. According to government estimates, there are around 337,000 undocumented foreign nationals in Chile. Although violent crime has risen in the past decade, Chile remains one of the safest countries in Latin America, with 5.4 murders per 100,000 residents in 2025.