Tag: Jose Antonio Kast

• Wednesday, April 29th 2026 - 15:11 UTC

  Chile's labor market hits 38 months of unemployment above 8% as growth forecast is revised down

  

  Chile's unemployment rate stood at 8.9% during the moving quarter from January to March 2026, a 0.2 percentage point increase over twelve months, according to data released on Wednesday by the National Statistics Institute (INE). The figure exceeded market expectations, which projected 8.6% according to the Bloomberg consensus, and completes 38 consecutive months with the indicator above 8%, confirming a structural weakness in the Chilean labor market that remains one of the main concerns of President José Antonio Kast's administration, in office since March 11.

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• Friday, April 24th 2026 - 19:49 UTC

  Kast–Paz rapprochement opens door to potential restoration of Bolivia–Chile relations

  

  The foreign ministers of Bolivia, Fernando Aramayo, and Chile, Francisco Pérez Mackenna, agreed on Friday to deepen bilateral ties and advance a joint economic agenda, amid a decisive diplomatic rapprochement between the two countries after nearly five decades without ambassador-level relations. The meeting, held at an event organized by the Chamber of Industry, Commerce, Services, and Tourism (Cainco) in Santa Cruz, concluded a two-day official visit by the Chilean minister.

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• Monday, April 20th 2026 - 18:02 UTC

  Irregular Venezuelans in Chile want to leave but can't: no papers, no consulate, no return mechanism

  

  As President José Antonio Kast's government ramps up its campaign against irregular immigration with deportation flights and promises of mass expulsions, thousands of undocumented Venezuelans in Chile face a paradox: they want to leave but cannot do so legally. Without valid passports, without Venezuelan consular services in the country and without a formal voluntary return mechanism, they are trapped between a government that does not want them and a homeland they cannot reach.

• Friday, April 17th 2026 - 11:06 UTC

  Chile launches deportation flights under Kast with 40 migrants expelled to Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia

  

  The government of Chilean President José Antonio Kast carried out its first deportation flight of irregular migrants on Thursday, expelling 40 people on a Chilean Air Force (FACh) Boeing 737 that made stops in Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia. The 19 Colombians, the last group to disembark, arrived in Bogotá shortly after 8:00 p.m. local time. The 17 Bolivians and four Ecuadorians were dropped off previously in La Paz and Guayaquil, respectively. Each deportee traveled accompanied by an officer from Chile's Investigative Police (PDI).

• Tuesday, April 7th 2026 - 05:05 UTC

  Chilean President Kast backs Argentine claim over Falklands in first state visit to Buenos Aires

  

  Chilean President José Antonio Kast formally backed Argentina's sovereignty claim over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands, South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands and surrounding maritime areas during his first state visit to Buenos Aires, where he met his counterpart Javier Milei at the Casa Rosada.

• Monday, April 6th 2026 - 01:07 UTC

  Chile and Argentina seek to “confront common enemies” in Kast's first state visit

  

  Chilean President José Antonio Kast departed Sunday on his first official trip abroad to meet his Argentine counterpart Javier Milei in a state visit centered on security, organized crime and the extradition of former guerrilla member Galvarino Apablaza.

• Friday, April 3rd 2026 - 21:38 UTC

  Argentina offers reward for fugitive Chilean ex-guerrilla Apablaza ahead of Kast visit

  

  Argentina's government on Friday offered a reward of 20 million pesos — roughly $14,000 — for information leading to the capture of Galvarino Apablaza, former leader of the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front (FPMR), wanted by Chilean courts as the alleged mastermind of the 1991 assassination of Senator Jaime Guzmán and the kidnapping of businessman Cristián Edwards.

• Tuesday, March 31st 2026 - 02:11 UTC

  Chile's new government freezes migrant legalization, eyes deportations

  

  President José Antonio Kast's government has suspended a decree drafted by the previous administration of Gabriel Boric that would have regularized some 182,000 people who entered Chile irregularly and voluntarily registered with immigration authorities.

• Sunday, March 29th 2026 - 22:04 UTC

  Sharp fuel price hike in Chile triggers first protests against Kast government

  

  Chilean President José Antonio Kast's government faced its first street protests since taking office on March 11 this week, after a historic fuel price increase hit consumers and rapidly eroded public support for the far-right leader.

• Tuesday, March 24th 2026 - 21:33 UTC

  Chile withdraws support for Bachelet's candidacy for UN Secretary General

  

  The government of José Antonio Kast on Tuesday withdrew Chile's backing for former President Michelle Bachelet's bid to lead the United Nations, deeming her candidacy “unviable” in the current context.