Peru to Declare Border Emergency to Block Incoming Migrants

Peru plans to declare a state of emergency along its border with Chile as growing numbers of migrants attempt to cross into the country following a pledge by Chile’s presidential front-runner José Antonio Kast to expel undocumented migrants.

President José Geri announced the decision in a post on X, noting that the emergency measure is intended to “provide a degree of calm in the face of the risk posed by migrants without permits attempting to enter the country.”

General Arturo Valverde, Peru’s national police chief, told the local broadcaster Canal N that at least 100 foreign nationals, most of them Venezuelan, were already gathered near the border seeking entry into Peru. Security forces have tightened surveillance ahead of the formal declaration.

Tensions escalated after Kast, a far-right candidate competing in next month’s runoff election against leftist contender Janet Jara, warned on 20 November that undocumented migrants “must leave in the coming months,” adding that those who remain will be detained and expelled if he wins the presidency.

In a video message recorded at the border, he declared that migrants who do not depart voluntarily “will be detained and removed” along with whatever belongings they carry.