On Thursday, 40 foreign nationals were deported from Iquique to Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia in the first flight under President José Antonio Kast's administration. Interior Undersecretary Máximo Pavez and National Migration Director Frank Sauerbaum outlined the Migration Control Plan, featuring increased flights and inspections. They stressed the operation was planned by the current government.
From Iquique at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, 40 individuals departed: 19 Colombians, 17 Bolivians, and 4 Ecuadorians. Among them, 26 faced administrative expulsions and 14 judicial ones for crimes like robbery with intimidation, violence, receiving stolen goods, and drug law violations, according to Sauerbaum.
Pavez outlined the Migration Control Plan: higher frequency of deportation flights, increased migration law inspections, reinforced border control in the Macrozona Norte, departure records, and biweekly expulsions. A voluntary exit mechanism will also be developed.
"The implementation of expulsions for all nationalities is a priority," Pavez stated, clarifying no preferences exist and efforts focus on consular logistics, including with Venezuela despite lacking diplomatic ties.
Sauerbaum noted that since Kast's election, 2,180 Venezuelans have left voluntarily. In the government's first month, 156 expulsions occurred—33% more than in 2022—reaching 196 with this flight, mostly Colombians.
