64 Bolivians Victims of Trafficking in Chile

On June 2, 2013 FM Bolivia reported the case of sixty-four Bolivian immigrants who were trafficked into Chile. Six people are currently being prosecuted before Chilean courts. The Bolivians, originally from Cochabamba, worked illegally in setting up high tension towers for the private company Paola Espinoza in Molina, more than 200 kilometers from Santiago de Chile. Once the group arrived in the territory, they were forced to work without appropriate immigration permission and under poor working conditions.

Among the six standing trial, three are accused of the smuggling and trafficking in persons while the rest are accused of being complicit in this crime. Given the situation in which the victims found themselves, the Chilean Ministry of the Interior decided to grant the sixty-four Bolivians humanitarian visas. The Department of Immigration to Chile is investigating the case of thirty-eight other Bolivians to determine if they are in the same situation as the other victims. Read Article