Haitian Kids Feared Trafficked to Chile, Prosecutors Open Probe

(Bloomberg) — Chile’s prosecutors are investigating the arrival of hundreds of Haitian children last year under a family reunification program that officials suspect may have been exploited for human trafficking. The state has now lost track of many of the children, Chilean authorities said. 

The National Prosecutor’s Office launched a probe Monday after a confidential report from the Comptroller’s Office, cited by local media BioBio Chile, discovered failures in verifying the relationship between groups of migrant children and the adults who accompanied them; validating addresses and documents; and tracking the minors after their arrival on charter flights. One adult often accompanied different groups of minors, whom the inspectors were later unable to trace, the report said.

The unfolding case casts a harsh light on often opaque migration flows in Latin America. Chile in particular, considered the region’s most prosperous country, has drawn a growing share of foreigners fleeing economic hardship and violence, especially since the Trump administration shunned most immigration starting in 2025.

Eugenio Campos, director of the anti-corruption unit in the National Prosecutor’s Office, told Radio Duna that the whereabouts of the children and adolescents who entered the country on the authorized charter flights is unclear.

“What is concerning is that, based on the information gathered in the investigation so far, we do not know where they are, and we have to find out,” Campos said, adding he estimates there are more than 200.

The Comptroller’s Office declined to comment on the case, citing the ongoing investigation.

Immigration has grown into a politically sensitive issue in Chile as hundreds of thousands of foreigners, especially from Venezuela and Haiti, have poured in over the past decade. Census data show the Haiti-born population rose from about 1,600 in 2012 to more than 62,000 in 2017. While the 2024 census counted over 80,000 Haitian residents in Chile, the National Migration Service estimated it at nearly 190,000.

Unlike the Venezuelan community, language and cultural barriers have kept many of the Creole-speaking Haitians from assimilating in Spanish-speaking Chile. Haiti’s embassy in Chile couldn’t be reached for comment.

President José Antonio Kast, who came into office in March vowing to crack down on irregular migration, posted on X that the allegations of a massive and uncontrolled entry of Haitian children into Chile in 2025 were “extremely serious” and required “maximum attention.” He said the government would cooperate to ensure than justice is done and accountability is established. 

Kast’s winning platform tapped into growing anti-immigration sentiment. A June survey by Centro de Estudios Públicos found that 67% of Chileans believe immigrants drive up crime rates, up from 41% in 2017.

In announcing the opening of its probe on Monday, the prosecutor’s office said the “seriousness of the facts involved the potential existence of a public official or a group of people who may have facilitated or promoted the illegal entry into Chile of non-nationals.”

Chile’s National Migration Service filed a criminal complaint Monday arguing that the facts may point to systemic trafficking, implicating not only accompanying adults but also airlines and travel agencies, among others.

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