Venezuelan woman and Bolivian baby die trying to cross Chilean border

A 78-year-old woman and a six-month-old baby died this weekend while trying to cross the border between Bolivia and Chile, as the region deals with a migration and humanitarian crisis.

The Venezuelan woman died on Saturday night while being treated by health personnel in a border area of the Chilean commune of Colchane, almost 2,000 km north of the capital.

Subsequently, a Bolivian baby died in another area of Colchane after crossing the rugged Altiplano with his family.

"The child was taken by her mother to the post, where the doctor on duty confirmed the infant's death, explaining that she had a medical history of hydrocephalus," military authorities from the area confirmed on Sunday.

Chile’s northern region has been struggling for about a year with a serious migratory crisis and the massive arrival of people, mostly Venezuelan nationals, which has led to the collapse of small border towns and xenophobic attacks.

Chile continues to be one of the most attractive countries to migrate to within Latin America due to its economic stability, despite the pandemic and social crisis of 2019.

On February 17, former President Sebastián Piñera decreed a State of Emergency in the provinces of Arica, Parinacota, Tamarugal, and El Loa, leading to the militarization of the region. The measure was extended by the current president Gabriel Boric and will be in force until April 15.

Last December, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR claimed that around 500 Venezuelan refugees and migrants, including children, cross irregularly between Bolivia and Chile every day and arrive in the country "after several days without food, with dehydration, hypothermia and altitude sickness."