Tensions between Chile and Bolivia heat up after arrest of 9 Bolivian nationals

By Nono Barahona. March 24, 2017

SANTIAGO, Chile. Seven Bolivian customs officials and two military officers were arrested last Sunday, March 19, 2017 in northern Chile, sparking the most recent border incident between the two neighboring countries.

According to Chilean law-enforcement agencies, the suspects, all male, were involved in an attempted armed robbery of a cargo truck, for which they would have entered Chilean territory.

However, Bolivian authorities put out a completely different account of the incident. According to them, the men were carrying out an anti-smuggling operation, and never left Bolivian territory.

The incident has escalated into a war of accusations between the two countries, with Bolivian President Evo Morales playing a leading role in the controversy.

The backdrop to the incident is the recent history of border disputes between Chile and Bolivia. A landlocked country, Bolivia resorted to the International Court of Justice in The Hague seeking help to force Chile to negotiate in good faith with Bolivia so that Bolivia may have direct access to the Pacific Ocean.

The Bolivian authorities and in particular the Bolivian President have consistently played the underdog in their relations with Chile in an attempt to attract international favor to the Bolivian effort of gaining access to the Pacific Ocean, depicting Chile as a richer, larger and aggressor country.

Last Wednesday, March 22, 2017, a judge in the northern city of Pozo Almonte decided to send the Bolivians to jail for 120 days while an investigation is conducted into the incident, infuriating Bolivian authorities, who expected the release of the men.

A colorful figure who usually takes a defiant stance against Chilean government officials, President Evo Morales was quick to say that the judge acted on orders of the Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs Heraldo Muñoz, suggesting that no separation of powers operated in the treatment of the Bolivian nationals.

Heraldo Muñoz is the Chilean diplomat that heads the Chilean effort to deny Bolivia's request in the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

In the wake of the arrest, Bolivian authorities said that they are taking the case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

If the men were actually carrying out an anti-smuggling operation in Bolivian territory, as claimed by the Bolivian President, then Chile runs the risk of having shot itself in the foot.