By EFE
Nov 27, 2023, 11:51 PM EST
A 63-year-old Venezuelan migrant was found dead on the border between Chile and Bolivia, near the northern town of Colchane, about 2,000 kilometers from the capital, the Chilean Police reported to the local press on Monday.
According to the first information, the man’s death would have been due to natural causes, but the intervention of third parties is not ruled out, considering that the wetlands where he was found are used by “coyotes” to enter migrants in an irregular situation from Bolivia to Chile.
Every year, the arrival of the southern summer increases the flow of foreigners who cross the plateau to enter Chile through non-authorized passes. Dozens of them die along the way due to the limited resources with which they face the extreme conditions of their journey: the climate is hostile, with strong gusts of wind during hot days and temperatures below zero degrees at night.
Colchane, with almost 1,600 inhabitants and located at 3,700 meters above sea level in the high plateau, has been overwhelmed on multiple occasions by migratory waves, mostly composed of Venezuelan, Peruvian, Haitian and Colombian citizens.
Last week, the government of progressive Gabriel Boric announced new measures to facilitate the expulsions of undocumented migrants, after a new wave of violent events that occurred in recent weeks in which foreigners participated.
Irregular migration is not a new phenomenon in Chile, but in recent years it has skyrocketed exponentially. Almost 35,000 people entered irregularly from January to August of this year, according to the Investigative Police.
The migration law, enacted in 2021 under the second administration of conservative Sebastián Piñera (2018-2022), requires obtaining visas at the Chilean consulates in the countries of origin to prevent foreigners from entering as tourists and changing their immigration status to look for work.
The Responsible Migration Observatory recorded that in 2021 the number of irregular entries into the country tripled and went from just over 16,000 in 2020 to 56,856; while in 2022 53,875 were registered.
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