Kast Aligns Chile with Trump-Backed "Escudo de las Américas" Security Initiative, Draws Opposition Criticism

Chile formalized its adhesion to the "Escudo de las Américas" (Shield of the Americas), a US-promoted hemispheric coordination initiative against transnational organized crime, becoming public around September 22–23. Kast said the arrangement involves no treaty and no cession of sovereignty, and would not entail foreign military operations on Chilean soil. The opposition Socialist Party (PS) called the move a poor signal, saying the government advanced without adequate public debate or transparency on its implications for defense, intelligence-sharing, the presence of foreign agents and possible joint operations, and warned the initiative carries a military dimension tied to a Trump administration policy asserting US primacy in the hemisphere.