US to share biometric data with Chile ‘to track criminals,’ Homeland Security’s Noem says
SANTIAGO Chile AP The United States will deploy biometric technologies in partnership with Chile to control migration and disrupt criminal networks Homeland Protection Secretary Kristi Noem explained Wednesday during a visit to the South American nation This arrangement is going to serve as a bridge to help Chile and the United States work towards bringing criminals to justice and knowing who is in our countries perpetuating crimes Noem explained while signing the preliminary agreement with Chile s Prevention Minister Luis Cordero and Justice Minister Jaime Gajardo This increased cooperation between our countries is extremely central to track criminals terrorists and dangerous individuals she added from the capital of Santiago while nearby thousands of residents heeded tsunami warnings to evacuate along the the country s Pacific coast The plan comes as the Trump administration seeks to bolster regional cooperation in its clampdown against transnational criminal groups including Tren de Aragua a notorious Venezuelan gang designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the White House Related Articles Trump signs order to justify tariffs on Brazil Bessent says child savings accounts in Trump law are a back door for privatizing Social Protection Former Vice President Kamala Harris says she will not run for California governor in US sanctions Brazil s Supreme Court justice overseeing matter against Bolsonaro Trump administration is launching a new private medical tracking system with Big Tech s help The bilateral agreement allows Chilean authorities to identify potentially dangerous immigrants entering or exiting the country and share their biometric figures such as fingerprints and iris scans with the Department of Homeland Shield to prevent their excursion to the U S That information will be incredibly key as we go after these criminal events Noem explained praising past cooperation between the countries intelligence agencies Tren de Aragua has wreaked havoc across once-peaceful Chile in latest years smuggling undocumented foreigners across borders running prostitution rings trafficking drugs and terrorizing the population with grisly crimes But Chilean bureaucrats have fought back bringing a number of gang members to trial in latest months After spreading across Latin America on the heels of illegal migration Tren de Aragua infiltrated the U S and inflamed domestic politics The Federal Bureau of Scrutiny and Chile the greater part in recent months teamed up to disrupt South American criminal networks allegedly responsible for a string of burglaries targeting the multimillion-dollar homes of high-profile celebrities and professional athletes in the U S and Europe The persons of interest among them Chilean nationals are now facing charges in Florida
