INTERVIEW | Boric's Decision on Israel Could Trigger End of Visa Waiver to the U.S.: Defense Expert Warns of This and Other Risks

In a conversation with El Líbero, Richard Kouyoumdjian, Vice President of AthenaLab, discussed the possibility of the Chilean government severing diplomatic relations with Israel following the President's decision to withdraw military attachés from the embassy in Tel Aviv. He stated that "the United States could take Chile as an example and impose severe penalties," and spoke about the strategic consequences that would arise.

The President’s decision has generated significant repercussions Gabriel Boric to withdraw Chilean military attachés in Israel, a determination that El Líbero anticipated this Tuesday, and which the government confirmed hours later through a Foreign Ministry statement. This measure could be a precursor to the severance of diplomatic relations with Israel, an announcement that the President was expected to make during the Public Accountability this Sunday.

On the program “Mirada Líbero,” Richard Kouyoumdjian, a naval officer, national security and defense expert, Vice President of AthenaLab, and councilor for Las Condes, addressed the consequences of this decision and what a break in relations would entail. He detailed that even the Visa Waiver with the United States is at stake.

“The United States could take Chile as an example and impose severe penalties”

The defense and security expert stated that “the most complex strategic consequences for Chile arise from the reaction that the United States could take”. “Today, the United States is taking very clear actions against anyone who mistreats or gets into trouble with Israel (…) and it acts quickly when it sees someone misaligning,” Kouyoumdjian explained.

Thus, he warned that “the United States could take Chile as an example, meaning it could impose severe penalties (…). This could damage the relationship with the United States, and relations with the United States do not recover quickly as they could with the State of Israel… Trump has a long memory, and he does not necessarily change his mind too quickly.”

The expert warned: “I can assure you that there are a large number of questions we have received from the American embassy, trying to understand what is going on in the mind of the Chilean government“.

He asserted that from the United States, “if you are punished, you will be punished in visas (Waiver), in the economy, and in defense agreements. Trump does not hold back; he applies the full menu“.

“This is not simply a whim of Boric. This has strategic consequences for Chile“

Additionally, the Vice President of AthenaLab discussed the strategic and defense consequences that would arise regarding Israel, stating that “this directly affects the country. This is not simply a whim of Boric. This has strategic consequences for Chile.”

“In practice, since this government took office, it has locked down purchases from Israel and it is an important supplier for us in arms, communications, surveillance, and interceptions.” “All the interceptions of Monsalve’s and Hermosilla’s cell phones are with Israeli technology,” he exemplified.

Therefore, in his view, “when this bad relationship with Israel began, those involved in these matters said ‘be careful, this will have strategic consequences because Israel is an important strategic supplier for Chile,'” he commented.

“The government will probably not sever relations with Israel”

Nonetheless, Kouyoumdjian noted that “the government will probably not sever relations with Israel. They threw gravel on Boric’s path; the novelty has been lost,” he said, referring to the publication by El Líbero that anticipated the President’s announcement.

“This may end with the withdrawal of military attachés, who today no longer have much real impact,” he said.

“Chile has very rarely severed diplomatic relations with other countries. It is a country that tends to be connected to the rest of the world,” but “the point is that there are actions the Chilean government has been taking since Boric took office, closing military relations with Israel, which have already had their consequences. What he did now was to tighten the screw further,” he added.

He also warned that “the Israeli ambassador will leave Chile in mid-year; I believe his replacement already had the agreement from the government. This makes the withdrawal of military attachés and a potential severance of relations more suspicious.

He added that “perhaps this is a publicity stunt by Boric’s government, to set off fireworks on June 1 in another direction, to avoid all the questioning that currently exists regarding the various problems they have.”

Thus, he stated that “it seems that Boric has been indulging himself with Israel for quite some time; he has them as houseguests” and asserted that “President Boric has gone a bit overboard“.