2023-04-28 17:48:55
Peru will maintain the state of emergency and the militarization of its borders for 60 days, to reinforce controls before the arrival of migrants, the majority from Chile, according to an official decree published this Thursday.
The day after its announcement, the government of Dina Boluarte specified the term of the measure, which will also include restriction of rights such as freedom of movement and meeting at the border crossings with Chile, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia.
“Declare for a term of sixty calendar days the State of Emergency (…) for the restoration of internal order,” says the rule published in the official gazette.
The Armed Forces will support the tasks of the police in internal control, in accordance with the provision.
According to Boluarte, the state of emergency is aimed at combating insecurity. Relying on press reports on Wednesday, he maintained that “those who commit assaults, robberies and other criminal acts on a daily basis are foreigners.”
“That is why we (have to) speak almost in unison about migration with citizen insecurity,” he said.
At the moment, no movement of troops is perceived, mainly at the border crossing between Peru and Chile, a concentration point for Haitians and Venezuelans and people of other nationalities who left Chile due to the tightening of immigration controls.
Peru prevents them from passing due to the lack of a stamped passport and valid visa. Several migrants interviewed by AFP in recent days assure that they only intend to cross Peruvian territory towards their countries of origin.
At the same time that it militarized the borders, the government ordered an amnesty of fines for six months for foreigners who remain illegally in Peru, so that during that time they can regularize their situation.
The UN Office for Refugees (Acnur) estimated that the amnesty will allow “100,000 refugees and migrants in the country to regularize and update their data.”
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