Chile notes 'more fluid' communication with Venezuela post-earthquake aid, but consular ties remain stalled

Chile's Interior Undersecretary Máximo Pavez announced on Thursday that the humanitarian support provided to Venezuela following the devastating earthquakes on June 24 has opened a more fluid communication channel between the two governments. However, he clarified that concrete steps toward the formal re-establishment of consular relations have not yet been taken.

The diplomatic thaw began with a phone call from Chilean President José Antonio Kast to Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, shortly after the disaster to express solidarity. This conversation marked the first high-level contact between the nations since July 2024, when Caracas recalled its diplomatic staff from Santiago. The withdrawal was a response to concerns raised by the previous Chilean administration regarding electoral transparency in Venezuela.

The interruption of in-person consular services has significantly impacted the approximately 700,000 Venezuelan residents in Chile and complicated the current Chilean administration's migration policies. Official estimates indicate that nearly half of the over 75,000 pending expulsion orders in Chile are for Venezuelan citizens, with deportation processes stalled due to the lack of operational diplomatic channels.

During a briefing on deportations to Colombia and Peru, Pavez emphasized the Chilean government's expectation that this improvement in dialogue will pave the way for processing pending repatriation cases. The Director of the National Migration Service, Frank Sauerbaum, reported that since the earthquakes, 1,184 Venezuelan citizens have voluntarily returned to their country from Chile.

“

Chile's humanitarian support to Venezuela after the devastating earthquakes has allowed for a 'more fluid' communication channel between the two governments.