Chile's President-Elect Kast Pledges Support for Ending Venezuela's "Dictatorship" Under Maduro

Chile's newly elected President Jose Antonio Kast has expressed his readiness to "support any situation that ends the dictatorship" under Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's leadership.

During his visit to Buenos Aires just two days following his electoral victory, Kast clarified that while Chile has no intentions to directly intervene in Venezuela, he would welcome action from others. "If someone is going to do it, let's be clear that it solves a gigantic problem for us and all of Latin America, South America, and even for countries in Europe," he stated.

Kast secured a decisive victory in Sunday's election run-off against his leftist opponent, campaigning on promises to deport over 300,000 predominantly Venezuelan irregular migrants, address crime issues, and strengthen security along Chile's northern border.

His election success reinforces a noticeable right-wing shift across Latin America, following conservative victories in Argentina, Bolivia, Honduras, El Salvador, and Ecuador.

Argentina's libertarian President Milei was among the first world leaders to congratulate Kast, describing the win as "another step forward in our region in defense of life, liberty, and private property."

Kast selected Chile's neighbor and occasional economic competitor Argentina for his initial international visit as president-elect.

Speaking to journalists after meeting with Milei, Kast attributed Venezuela's economic collapse and migrant exodus to Maduro, whom he referred to as "a narco-dictator."

"It is not our responsibility to solve it (the Venezuelan crisis), but whoever does will have our support," he emphasized.

Prior to the election, Kast had encouraged Venezuelans to voluntarily return to their homeland, though hundreds of migrants attempting to travel back to Venezuela encountered barriers at Chile's border with Peru.