On Wednesday, the United States ratified through its Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, the normal operation of the Visa Waiver for Chile after signing an agreement with the Minister of Public Security of the South American country, Luis Cordero, to improve border security and maintain active collaboration between both nations on migration issues.
PUBLICIDAD
Noem visited Chile as part of a tour that includes stops in Argentina and Ecuador to strengthen collaboration on regional security issues.
PUBLICIDAD
Visa Waiver ratification
“Chile has a continuous alliance with the United States,” said the Secretary of Homeland Security in the Trump administration, who reaffirmed this commitment “through the Visa Waiver program, and we appreciate this alliance. Chile has made efforts to comply with the Visa Waiver program and we look forward to continuing to improve this program in the future.”
Noem added that Chile “has also helped us identify individuals who are members of criminal organizations and we have seen a great impact from these programs."
“Criminal networks travel through Chile to the United States and other places, and in fact, in February in the United States, we identified individuals who managed to enter the homes of professional athletes. Many of these individuals came through Chile and arrived in the United States,” Kristi Noem added, referring to the gang that robbed the homes of NFL stars like Patrick Mahomes of Kansas City and Joe Burrow of Cincinnati.
The Chilean stance
Regarding the ratification of the Visa Waiver, Minister Cordero stated that “the Secretary-General thanked Chile for its commitment, especially those associated with the complementary agreement that we submitted in 2023, with the purpose of expanding the information we provide for the Visa Waiver.”
“I know that this is a topic that worried many people in the country,” pointed out the head of Security, who added, “I believe the secretary’s own statement has been clear on this point.”
The Visa Waiver Program is a program of the United States government that allows citizens of certain countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business (up to 90 days) without the need to obtain a traditional visa through the embassy. They only need to obtain an electronic authorization before the trip.