Peru detains group smuggling migrants from Chile

Peru's National Police on Thursday escorted a group of detainees accused of human trafficking into a police base in Lima

They are suspected of trafficking Haitians across the border to Chile.

Police discovered the operation after a transit accident in a remote border region with Chile involving the group earlier this week; 2 Haitians were killed and 12 others injured.

Peruvian Interior Minister Juan Carrasco said 16 people were detained, including police and migration officers.

Police also informed 130 Haitians were detained.

Migrants were charged up to 200 (US) dollars to help them transit between the border of Chile and Peru using forged documents.

A large Haitian community settled in Chile after a devastating earthquake that hit Port au Prince in 2010, but the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to look for other opportunities outside their host country.