Chilean Carabineros to increase its helicopter fleet

By Alfredo Eberlein

The governor of Santiago, Claudio Orrego, met with the director general of Carabineros de Chile, Ricardo Yáñez, to coordinate strategies and support the institution in the fight against organized crime and drug trafficking in a climate of security crisis that the country is currently experiencing.

Within this framework, the governor said he would provide the Carabineros Air Prefecture with a new helicopter without specifying the model.

According to the Santiago Metropolitan Regional Government, during the April 14 meeting, both authorities analyzed the current security situation in the region.

They agreed to work together to strengthen the Carabineros‘ operational capacity.

Governor Orrego stressed the importance of supporting the security forces in these difficult times.

He pledged to provide resources and equipment to improve the institution’s capacity to deal with these crimes.

“We don’t want more dead carabineros in Chile. But that is not enough just to declare it with words.”

“We have to talk about it with deeds, and what we have discussed today is a very significant investment for two objectives: armored trucks that can intervene and that can enter different territories without putting the lives of our carabineros at risk, that also have the speed for the investigative work and also an air support that increases the operational capacity”, said the governor.

For his part, General Yáñez thanked the governor for his support and stressed the importance of working together to improve the tools that the institution has in the fight against crime.

At the meeting, an investment plan of nearly US$12.5 million was agreed upon for armored vehicles for patrolling vulnerable sectors, cars for investigative work, drones, and a helicopter for the Metropolitan Region.

This new helicopter will join the Airbus H145 in Arica, another aircraft announced for the Maule Region, along with the pending renovation of two primary instruction helicopters.

With information from Infodefensa