Drug trafficking in Chile, the greatest national security threat

InSight Crime, Wednesday, June 3, 2020

While Chile has one of the lowest homicide rates in Latin America and has managed to prevent major criminal groups from developing there, a new survey has shown that Chileans view drug trafficking and organized crime as the most significant threat to the country’s national security.

According to the report “Perceptions of Foreign Policy and National Security,” prepared by the Chilean policy think tank AthenaLab and the market research group Ipsos, 79 percent of Chileans said that drug trafficking and organized crime represent a “crucial or significant threat to national security.”

Another survey by the same experts yielded a similar result, indicating that 69 percent of Chileans identify this same threat as the primary one in the country, even ahead of climate change, pandemics, and cyberattacks.

InSight Crime spoke with Juan Pablo Toro, executive director of AthenaLab, to discuss the evolution of organized crime in Chile.

InSight Crime (IC): Traditionally, Chile has been considered to have a lower presence of organized crime compared to its regional neighbors. But what do you see as the main criminal threats to Chile currently?

Juan Pablo Toro (JPT): Undoubtedly, drug trafficking. Chile is bordered by the second and third largest cocaine producers in the world, Peru and Bolivia, respectively, which has always posed a challenge. Additionally, it has a sophisticated banking system and highly competitive export ports, making it attractive as a money laundering location and transit corridor. To prevent this, police and financial measures are adopted, but within a context of stability. In terms of security, the political instability affecting most South American countries (including Chile), which may be exacerbated by the economic crisis stemming from the pandemic, can be exploited by transnational criminal organizations to expand and diversify their activities. Furthermore, many police units have had to focus on controlling urban protests or reinforcing quarantines, leaving other types of operations secondary.

IC: In February, a UN report identified Chile as one of the main departure points for drugs destined for Europe. What has contributed to this growing appeal of Chile as a transshipment point for narcotics?

JPT: I believe it is fundamentally the dynamism of Chilean ports, which respond to an export-oriented economy. Consider that 95 percent of Chile’s foreign trade is maritime, which is quite unprecedented for a continental and non-island country. This means there is a constant flow of cargo, monitored by the Navy, police, and customs, but the volumes are immense. Last year, 16 tons of cocaine were discovered at the port of Philadelphia aboard the MSC Gayene, which had departed from Chile, stopped in Peru and the Bahamas, and whose final destination was the Netherlands. However, there is no evidence that this drug was introduced into Chile.

IC: Is there concern that this increase in drug trafficking will lead to a rise in associated violence in Chile, as occurred in Uruguay, another country that was long considered a model in Latin America?

JPT: Yes. In recent years, we have seen specific incidents of violence that we were not familiar with here: hitmen entering a place and firing multiple shots at a person to settle scores, “stray bullets” killing people in neighborhoods, harassment of police stations in areas with significant micro-trafficking presence, or the use of “parrilleros,” as they are called in Colombia, referring to hitmen transported on motorcycles. Such actions are fueled by access to weapons that drug trafficking allows. These levels are much lower compared to what we see in Brazil, Mexico, or Central America, but for a society with the lowest homicide rates in the region, it is logical to be alarmed before this grows further.

IC: Generally, it is believed that criminal groups within Chile are engaged in micro-trafficking and have not resorted to the type of violence observed in other countries in the region. Do you agree with that statement?

JPT: I agree. The fact that groups engaged in micro-trafficking have not grown larger or exercised greater violence is due to Chile having one of the strongest states in the region and its police performing well. However, that is never guaranteed.

IC: What are the main groups within Chile and what connections do they have with transnational groups like the PCC?

JPT: There are no identifiable groups known to the general population, not even to the press. Figures like “El Chapo” Guzmán or groups like the PCC are unthinkable, as it is assumed that they would be neutralized before reaching that magnitude. Generally, family clans operate here that have certain links with some regional organizations, but they carry out very specific operations, such as drug shipments or introducing drugs into the country, not on a permanent basis.

IC: What are the main criminal economies developing along the border of Chile with Bolivia and Peru?

JPT: Drug trafficking, irregular immigration trafficking (also known as “coyotaje”), car theft (especially with Bolivia), and smuggling of goods.

IC: What cooperation has there been with Bolivia, in particular during Morales’ government or with the current interim government to take drastic measures against organized crime?

JPT: For practical reasons, there is always some cooperation in drug control that transcends historical tensions with neighboring countries. However, in the case of Bolivia, cooperation was greatly strained when former police chief Rene Sanabria was captured, in which Chile assisted. Then-President Evo Morales even engaged in a diplomatic standoff over this. Furthermore, we do work with the DEA.

IC: Seizures of synthetic drugs have increased in the last decade in Chile. What do you attribute this increase to?

JPT: Basically, because drug traffickers are diversifying their business and taking advantage of the fact that there are consumers here with high purchasing power who can access imported drugs in a highly globalized commercial environment.

Generally, they come from abroad. To introduce them, letters, packages, or human couriers are used. It is very uncommon to find laboratories on national soil.

IC: There have been reports of increasingly violent and open attacks on copper shipments in Chile, and that there are groups dedicated to this activity. How serious do you believe copper theft is?

 JPT: Given the magnitude of the volumes of copper we export (we are the world’s leading producer), these thefts do not significantly alter the industry’s large figures, but it is concerning that they are occurring. Generally, copper cables in use and disuse are stolen and then resold locally. However, the seizure made earlier this year, when 83 tons of copper were confiscated in the town of Lampa that were apparently going to be exported to China, already indicates the scale of transnational organized crime. The smuggling of raw materials is precisely an activity to which drug traffickers can expand in light of border closures due to the pandemic and the increased difficulty in reaching their confined consumers.

IC: Chile is an important connection point between China and Latin America, and there have been regular cases of human trafficking, drug trafficking, and smuggling between the two countries. What can you tell us about the scale of criminal exchanges between Chile and China?

JPT: Last year, a network of irregular immigrant trafficking from China was dismantled. Some stayed here while others continued on to Argentina. However, such illegal activities between the two countries are not very common. There are cases of smuggling of counterfeit goods from China, which are seized at the ports.

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