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2w ago

Chile Starts Northern Border Trenches Under Kast’s ‘Border Shield’ Plan

The new administration is hardening Chile’s northern frontier using emergency powers and military support.

Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast gives a press conference as a machine digs, as part of measures to deter irregular migration, along the northern border at the Chacalluta border crossing, in Arica, Chile, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
A soldier stands near a machine digging along the northern border at the Chacalluta border crossing, in Arica, Chile, Monday, March 16, 2026, as part of the measures to deter irregular migration. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast gives a press conference as a machine digs, as part of measures to deter irregular migration, along the northern border at the Chacalluta border crossing, in Arica, Chile, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast walks past diggers along the northern border at the Chacalluta border crossing in Arica, Chile, Monday, March 16, 2026, as part of measures to deter irregular migration. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

Overview

  • Excavators and troops began work at Chacalluta on the Peru line and at Colchane on the Bolivia frontier, with President José Antonio Kast inspecting the sites.
  • Plans call for trenches about 3 meters deep and walls up to 5 meters high at strategic points, with potential expansion across hundreds of miles.
  • Kast says the objective is to stop irregular crossings, drug trafficking and organized crime, citing extensive smuggling routes and large flows of stolen vehicles into Bolivia.
  • The government has designated vulnerable stretches as a military zone, issued emergency decrees on border control and deportations, and named Alberto Soto as a special border commissioner.
  • The Border Shield pairs barriers with surveillance drones, thermal cameras, biometrics and watchtowers, proposes a 3,000‑member force, and faces legal objections from rights groups and a divided Congress.