Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast will push Congress to approve legislative reforms to fight organized crime, he said during a national address on Wednesday, echoing one of his chief campaign promises.
Chile remains one of the safest countries in Latin America, despite a rise in murders and kidnappings in recent years, blamed on the arrival of foreign criminal groups, such as Venezuela's Tren de Aragua.
Kast, a 60-year-old far-right lawyer, pledged to implement a major crackdown on crime and immigration when he took office in March.
"There are more than 30 bills, some already in Congress...which are going to change the way we confront organized crime in Chile," Kast said in the televised address, adding that more legislation will be submitted in coming days.
The homicide rate hit 5.4 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2025, double what it was a decade ago.
Kast announced he will call for a constitutional reform to formalize Chile's "duty" to safeguard its people's security.
Doing so "will allow us to have a much broader framework for action and more effective tools to combat crime. Belonging to a criminal organization will, in and of itself, be a crime with harsher penalties," Kast said.
Kast also vowed to toughen penalties for criminal organizations that recruit minors.
Faced with criticism for a lack of quick results on his crime crackdown, Kast requested the resignation of his first security minister, former prosecutor Trinidad Steinert, after just 69 days in office.