Chile stars in new protest against Venezuelan immigrants

Iquique, a border city with Bolivia, in northern Chile, staged a second protest on Monday where they blocked the streets and closed the airport, in protest motivated by the high crime rate associated with illegal immigrants.

Around 15 trucks cut off the main streets of Iquique, in the Tarapacá region, which since 2019 has received thousands of illegal Venezuelan immigrants who cross the border between Chile and Bolivia.

The majority of Venezuelan immigrants live in conditions of extreme poverty, those who have managed to cross with more resources are destined for the capital, or more southern cities, but those who have more deficiencies settle with tents in city's squares and beaches.

The massive protest, which was accompanied by xenophobic shouting, was motivated by the beating of two police officers last week at the hands of seven Venezuelans.

In addition to this, citizens of Iquique assure that due to the presence of undocumented immigrants, crime has increased in Iquique.

Shouting in unison "criminals out" they attacked a Venezuelan camp. The protest left one Venezuelan wounded and the camp destroyed and forcibly evicted.

In September of last year, another demonstration against undocumented immigrants led to the burning of belongings of Venezuelan families.

The Tarapacá's prosecutor, Raúl Arancibia, declared that unprecedented crimes are being committed in the city, such as hired assassins or kidnappings. He assures that there have always been crimes in Iquique, what is new for the city is the violence of these crimes.

According to data from the Chilean authorities, approximately 200 Venezuelans illegally cross the border between Chile and Bolivia daily, their destination is the city of Colchane, 237 km from Iquique.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and with border crossings closed, the uncontrolled immigration situation has worsened since February of last year, when the Venezuelan immigrants themselves denounced that criminal gangs from their country extorted them as they crossed the border.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported in December that approximately 500 Venezuelans, including children, cross through irregular crossing points between Chile and Bolivia, arriving in the country after several days without eating, dehydrated and in a state of hypothermia.

So far in 2022, two people have died trying to cross the border, and 23 since the massive crossing began in 2021.

According to statistics, there are 1.4 million Venezuelans in Chile, the largest population, followed by Peruvians, Haitians and Colombians.