Total eclipse sweeps across South America, moment of totality as moon completely blocks out the sun//CRIMSON TAZVINZWA///
A total solar eclipse is seen from Paiguano, Chile on July 2, 2019. Around 25,0000 tourists arrived to Paiguano, a small town in the Elqui Valley, to watch what will be the only total solar eclipse of 2019 and the first since 2017. : Marcelo Hernandez/@GettyImages pic.twitter.com/5VRGySf…
Immigration into Chile has increased sixfold in less than 30 years, from 114,500 in the 1992 census, to 746,465 last year
Chilean prosecutors are indicting at least 10 people over their alleged links to a human trafficking ring that smuggled hundreds of Chinese migrants into Chile after charging them ,000 apiece for tourist visas, local media reported on Saturday.
Chile’s foreign ministry confirmed in a statement there had been an investigation into a human trafficking ring operating in 2016 and 2017 but gave no further details.
In Chile, as in every other country that has historically embraced slavery, there are numerous racists. It is equally fair to say that, like all countries with a similar history, the fraction of those who are appalled by the persistence of slavery in their lifetimes well exceeds the proportion of racists. And when well-meaning people, who seek to expose what they perceive to be human trafficking, are accused of racism by those who do not understand a situation or want to sow confusion, this is a grave injustice.
The trafficking ring included several local and provincial politicians, as well as other government employees, crime prevention deputy secretary Katherine Martorell told local daily La Tercera.
Chile is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor. Chilean women and children are exploited in sex trafficking within the country, as are women and girls from other Latin American countries and possibly from Asia. Men, women, and children—primarily from other Latin American countries, as well as Asia—are exploited in forced labor in mining, agriculture, construction, street vending, the hospitality and restaurant sectors, the garment sector, and in domestic service. Authorities report that Chinese immigrants may also be vulnerable to both sex trafficking and forced labor. Chilean authorities identified 90 children involved in illicit activities in 2014, including drug traffickingand robbery; some of these children may have been trafficking victims. Chilean officials report that Chile is a transit country for trafficking victims from other countries, including possibly to Europe, and that some Chilean women may be exploited in sex trafficking in other countries. NGOs report brothels in small towns are often frequented by police officers, dissuading potential trafficking victims from reporting their exploitation.
“This is the largest migrant trafficking network that has ever existed in our country,” Martorell told the newspaper.
In all, 381 Chinese citizens were smuggled into the country illegally by the group in 2016 and 2017, according to the reports.
Martorell said some of the migrants were conned, while others had been abandoned or otherwise put in danger. Some had since departed for other countries in Latin America, she said, while others were in the process of seeking permanent residency.
Chile, a relatively isolated Pacific coast nation, has increasingly become a top destination for both legal and illegal migration from poverty-stricken nations in Latin America and further afield.
The nation has the highest gross domestic product per capita in South America, low levels of corruption and the lowest murder rate, according to figures from the World Bank and InSight Crime, a foundation that analyses organized crime.
Immigration into Chile has increased sixfold in less than 30 years, from 114,500 in the 1992 census, to 746,465 last year.
