Chile's Francisco Pérez Mackenna being greeted by President-elect José Antonio Kast on January 21, 2026. Photo: La Tercera/Pablo Vásquez R./file photo.
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—Chilean Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna told EFE that restoring consular services with Venezuela is a current “priority.” The move is allegedly intended to assist hundreds of thousands of citizens affected by the diplomatic rupture between the two countries, which was provoked by Chilean interference in Venezuelan internal affairs.
During an official visit to New Delhi, Pérez explained that while there are over 700,000 Venezuelan migrants in Chile and approximately 25,000 Chileans in Venezuela, there currently is no administrative assistance or any official communication channels between the two nations.
Diplomatic ties were severed following the 2024 Venezuelan presidential elections following interventionist statements from the Chilean government regarding the transparency of the electoral process.
At the time, Chile echoed US allegations of irregularities involving the alleged victory of Edmundo González, the surrogate presidential candidate for far-right leader María Corina Machado. Ironically, this US “regime”-change strategy was apparently abandoned months later when US President Trump noted Machado’s lack of support within Venezuela following the US abduction of President Maduro.
In response to Chile’s hostility, Venezuela suspended passenger air operations with Chile in September 2024, withdrew its diplomatic personnel from Chile, and demanded the immediate departure of Chilean diplomatic officials from Venezuela. This followed a speech at the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly by Chile’s president at the time, Gabriel Boric, who denigrated Venezuelan institutions and questioned the results of the July 28 presidential elections.
The political climate in Chile shifted further to the right in December 2025, when José Antonio Kast won the presidency by linking migration to public insecurity. Kast enthusiastically welcomed the US invasion of Venezuela on January 3—an operation that led to the abduction of President Maduro and during which the US killed more than 100 people—describing the act of imperialist aggression as “great news.”
Despite this record of hostilities, Pérez Mackenna confirmed discussions with his Venezuelan counterpart during the recent CELAC summit in Colombia. “We need to normalize the transfer of information between Chile and Venezuela so we can provide consular services to those who need them,” he stated.
Pérez Mackenna is a Chilean economist who, before being appointed as foreign minister, served as president of the Chilean Association of Pension Fund Administrators (Asociación de AFP), which represents the financial corporations that manage the country’s private pension system. His most recent post was bord member of the US-Chile Chamber of Commerce.
The Chilean foreign minister noted that the lack of institutional cooperation not only harms civilians but also complicates security mechanisms and the execution of more than 75,000 pending deportation orders in Chile, nearly half of which involve Venezuelan citizens. Analysts have noted that Chile’s true motivation may be related to this factor.
Pérez Mackenna argued that consular operations should be treated as an urgent technical necessity that transcends political differences to ensure the rights of migrant communities.
Regarding Venezuelan domestic politics, Pérez Mackenna advocated for sovereign solutions, seemingly distancing the administration from the interventionist approach of recent years. “Hopefully, Venezuelans can move forward in this direction, according to their own rules and decisions,” he said, adding that differences must be resolved through the democratic system.
Chile’s Failure to Bury Neoliberalism Led to an Overtly Pinochetista President
According to analysts, a decade of Chilean meddling in Venezuelan affairs—often intended to please Washington’s “regime”-change operations against successive Chavista governments—has created deep skepticism. Many remain doubtful regarding the real intentions of Chilean institutions and the prospects for a stable resumption of diplomatic relations given the history of Chile acting as a tool for regional destabilization.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
OT/JRE/SL
