DistantNews
Support us
Expert questions police entry into customs zones in Chile
🇨🇱 Chile /Crime & Justice

Expert questions police entry into customs zones in Chile

From Cooperativa · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • An expert has called for justification regarding the potential entry of police into customs control areas, as proposed by the government's agenda against organized crime and terrorism.
  • The former deputy director of customs inspection highlighted that customs has the authority to inspect goods entering and leaving the country, questioning the legal basis and purpose for police entry.
  • He warned that police entry could create institutional tension and duplicated efforts, potentially making the state appear inefficient, and recommended dialogue over imposing the idea.

A former high-ranking official in Chile's customs service is questioning the government's proposal to allow police forces into customs-controlled areas. Javier Uribe, ex-deputy director of inspection at the National Customs Service, stated that the rationale behind allowing Carabineros and the PDI into these zones, as part of the government's Organized Crime and Terrorism (ACOT) agenda, needs clear justification.

The Customs is empowered to operate in primary zones, as its Organic Law and the respective ordinance allow it to review and control all merchandise entering and leaving the country.

— Javier UribeExplaining the existing legal framework for customs operations.

Uribe emphasized that customs officers are already empowered by law to inspect all goods entering and leaving the country. He pointed out that the specific legal provisions enabling police entry would need to be examined, along with the underlying purpose. "The customs inspection work is very technical, very precise, and requires thorough knowledge, as most of the officials have," he explained in a radio interview.

the customs inspection work is very technical, very precise, and requires thorough knowledge, as most of the officials have.

— Javier UribeHighlighting the specialized nature of customs work.

While acknowledging that customs and police agencies collaborate on criminal investigations, Uribe expressed concern about potential institutional friction and inefficiency. He warned that allowing police into primary customs zones without clear purpose could lead to overlapping actions and institutional tension. "For institutional zeal, I insist that it is very important to know well the scope, the intention, and the purpose of the police entering the primary zones," he said.

For institutional zeal, I insist that it is very important to know well the scope, the intention, and the purpose of the police entering the primary zones.

— Javier UribeExpressing concern about the implications of police entry into customs areas.

Uribe recommended a collaborative approach, suggesting that authorities should "sit down to talk and work, and not simply impose an idea, which besides, I don't know if it has a legal basis." The proposal is part of a broader government agenda aimed at combating organized crime and terrorism.

sit down to talk and work, and not simply impose an idea, which besides, I don't know if it has a legal basis.

— Javier UribeRecommending a collaborative approach to the proposed policy change.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Cooperativa in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog