Chilean police locate 33 of 64 missing Haitian children amid entry probe

Chilean investigative police (PDI) have confirmed locating 33 of the 64 Haitian children who were declared missing by the Comptroller's Office. These children had entered Chile in 2025 under family reunification programs, but their initial status was unclear, prompting an investigation into irregular entry processes.

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Of them, we have already found 33 (children) who are living with their binding families, parents, mothers, and siblings.

General Eduardo Cerna of the PDI stated that the located children are now living with their relatives, including parents and siblings. The Comptroller's investigation focused on various charter flights between January and October 2025, during which 105 minors reportedly arrived with at least 12 adults lacking blood ties. The whereabouts of 64 of these minors were initially unknown.

Following the Comptroller's report, the head of the National Migration Service (SERMIG), Frank Sauerbaum, filed a complaint regarding alleged irregularities in the arrival of minors from Haiti, suggesting a potential case of child trafficking involving an estimated 200 cases. However, Cerna emphasized that the children were not missing but were residing with their families, and authorities are working to corroborate the documentation of their transfer to designated adults.

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No minor, as was intended to be known, arrived at the airport, passed through, and left.

Cerna assured that the children entered with proper documentation and that their entry was verified. He dismissed claims that minors had entered the country without proper checks, explaining that charter flight arrivals were processed in separate security checkpoints. Minister of Social Development María Jesús Wulf, appointed by President José Antonio Kast, affirmed that while the immediate focus was on the 64 children, protocols will be reinforced to consolidate available information and data.

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Although the immediate focus has been on the 64 children and adolescents, we will reinforce protocols and continue to advance in coordination with various agencies to consolidate the available information and data.