Two Chileans were arrested for allegedly trying to rob a house in Harrison (NY), as part of a gang that the police have identified as the ‘South American Theft Group’ (SATG), whose members apparently take advantage of the fact that citizens of that country do not require a visa to visit the US
The police identified Piero Antonio Morales Marchant and Paul Anthony Montecino Leiva as suspects of trying to enter a home by breaking a rear window. They then fled to their residence in Queens (NYC) and were arrested shortly after with the help of the Nassau County Police, according to News 12.
Both men were booked into the Westchester County Jail. Investigators say they are part of a “South American robbery gang”, whose members abuse the Visa Waiver “tourism” program (VWP) and then commit robberies across the country.
In 2020 there were at least two similar cases of Chileans accused of burglaries in New York and California. At the moment, Chile is the only Latin American country on the list of 12 nations exempt from visas to visit the US