Chile To Spend $300 Million To Deport Venezuelans

President Sebastian Piñera's administration is implementing a $300-million plan to expel 1,800 foreigners, mostly Venezuelans, via 15 private flights.

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Outlet La Tercera revealed details of a tender for services which started on March 12 when the Interior Undersecretary began the bidding process to deport Venezuelans throughout the year.

This is part of the "Colchane Plan" whose implementation began on Feb. 9 through deportations that generated protests among human rights defenders.

The Piñera administration has been required by the Judiciary due to several appeals for protection, which have been filed to prevent these deportations.

In one of these legal actions, Jesuit Migrant Service President Macarena Rodriguez pointed out that people were deported while they were hospitalized in health centers.

"These people... are notified of their expulsion process at 2:00 or 4:00 in the morning. They are put on a bus that takes them from where they are staying to the plane taking them out of the country," she said, as reported by La Tercera.

"In this process, their rights are not being respected, nor is international law, given that the Supreme Court established that people arriving from Venezuela have a special status."