According to the Undersecretary of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve, the program comprises the creation of 50 checkpoints in the 15 communes, where 60 percent of homicides are registered.

The initiative will possibly begin this week in six of the municipalities, where teams of 11 carabineers will be deployed, supported by armored vehicles.

“As we know, in the territories where there is a greater probability of the commission of violent crimes, aerial surveillance is very important, which is why we have also decided to acquire 30 drones,” Monsalve said.

The official acknowledged that more murders were committed in the first 20 days of 2024 than in the same period of last year. About 40 percent of the said murders are linked to organized crime, either due to territorial disputes or revenge.

“That is the Government’s reason for strengthening measures in the Metropolitan Region,” Monsalve said, adding that the most important thing is to identify the gangs and dismantle them.

A television report published in 2022 warned of the presence in the country of at least four criminal organizations: the Tren de Aragua; Jalisco Nueva Generación; the Gulf Cartel, and the Sinaloa Cartel; which were recently joined by the Chotas and the Espartanos, from Colombia, and the Pulpos, from Peru, according to Ignacio Castillo Val, director of the unit specialized in Organized Crime and Drugs of the National Prosecutor’s Office.

Chile signed agreements with countries such as Peru, Bolivia and Venezuela with the aim of strengthening joint work and the exchange of information to tackle smuggling, human trafficking, irregular migration, drug and weapons trafficking and transnational crimes.

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