Chile Begins Mass Deportations Under New Right-Wing President
18th April 2026
Chile’s new right-wing government on Thursday stepped up migrant deportations, expelling an initial group of 40 people from Colombia, Bolivia, and Ecuador.
President José Antonio Kast, who took office in March, is the country’s most right-wing leader since the end of General Augusto Pinochet’s rule (1973-1990). He was elected on a promise to curb illegal migration, particularly from Venezuela, which many Chileans link to a rise in violent crime.
In his first national address on Wednesday, Kast said the deportation flight would be the “first in a long series,” aimed at creating a sustained outflow of migrants “who should not stay in our country.”
“We will intensify the deportation flights,” deputy interior minister Máximo Pavez said, adding that the government also plans to return migrants by bus.
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