Chile and Bolivia agree to check on border crimes in La Paz meeting

LA PAZ – Bolivia and Chile will continue to look into how to solve border crimes affecting them such as vehicle robbery and illegal entry of merchandise.

Abel de la Barra, commander-in-general of the Bolivian police, said in a press conference that there will be upcoming meetings in Arica, Chile, to study the procedures to return robbed vehicles and other aspects linked with smuggling.

“We expect to speed some processes and the exchange of information, to fight crimes on the border,” he said.

He said the work will be addressed to consolidate coordination, joint operations and also speed information exchange.

The intention is to better serve our people and stop crime,’ stressed the Bolivian police commander.

For his part, the Chilean representative, Oscar Oettinger, said that both countries share the common goal of fighting crime and for this purpose they coordinate with the Bolivian police.

The Thursday’s meeting gives continuity to the agreements of the 13rd Meeting of the Border and Integration Committee which took place on July 25 in the Department of Santa Cruz.

On that date, both parties agreed on the need to implement a useful protocol to solve border incidents.

Both delegations committed to speed the flux on the bordering corridors, improve the conditions for attention in the Bolivian complex of Chungara and establish points of contact to improve communication.

They also analyzed the possibility for the creation of a Bordering Card, with which the towns in zones closer to the border, might be benefited.