Scandal at the Chilean Consulate in Haiti: Consul Recalled, Haitian Minors Unaccounted for, and 10,000 Visa Applications Suspended

A major migration scandal is currently shaking Chilean authorities. The government of President Gabriel Boric recalled its consul in Port-au-Prince, Rafael du Monceau de Bergenda, in October 2025 following allegations related to visa issuance. The revelations were confirmed this week before the Chilean Senate by National Migration Service Director Frank Sauerbaum, while a criminal investigation is now underway.

The information, first reported by the Chilean newspaper La Tercera and later confirmed by 24 Horas, emerged as part of a broader investigation into the entry of thousands of Haitian minors into Chile through family reunification programs.

According to Frank Sauerbaum, Director of Chile’s National Migration Service, the government withdrew Consul Rafael du Monceau after receiving “complaints and investigations regarding acts of corruption linked to visa issuance at the Chilean Consulate in Haiti.” The statement was delivered on June 17 before the Senate’s Public Security Commission.

A Migration Policy Relaxed in Response to Haiti’s Crisis

To understand the origins of the case, it is necessary to revisit the context of the period.

Faced with the collapse of Haitian institutions, escalating gang violence, and increasing difficulties in obtaining official documentation, Chilean authorities relaxed certain requirements within the framework of family reunification procedures.

Sauerbaum explained to senators that birth certificates could be submitted without legalization or consular validation due to “the situation of violence and political instability” prevailing in Haiti.

However, according to Chilean migration authorities, this flexibility gradually opened the door to numerous irregularities.

“During 2025, a significant number of applications containing falsified documents were detected,” Sauerbaum told the Senate commission.

More Than 10,000 Applications Now Frozen

The consequences have been substantial.

The Director of the National Migration Service confirmed that more than 10,000 family reunification applications are currently suspended due to concerns regarding the reliability of submitted documentation and the absence of normal consular operations in Port-au-Prince.

Authorities reported that several files contain inconsistencies regarding declared family relationships, while others include potentially forged documents.

The Chilean government has also halted migration-related operations at its consulate in Port-au-Prince. At present, only diplomatic functions remain active, while migration services have been suspended.

Anti-Corruption Prosecutors Launch Investigation

The affair has now taken on a judicial dimension.

According to 24 Horas, Chile’s National Prosecutor’s Office has included former Consul Rafael du Monceau within the scope of its investigation in order to determine his potential level of responsibility for the reported irregularities.

Eugenio Campos, head of the Anti-Corruption Unit of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, stated that investigators will examine the role of “all public officials and private individuals” who may have participated in the alleged misconduct.

At this stage, no formal charges or convictions have been issued against the former consul.

The Case of the Missing Haitian Minors

The scandal forms part of a broader investigation concerning Haitian minors admitted to Chile under family reunification programs.

Between 2022 and 2025, nearly 16,500 family reunification procedures involving Haitian nationals were approved. Subsequent verification efforts by Chilean authorities revealed that numerous children could not be located at their declared addresses. Several hundred minors are currently the subject of ongoing investigations.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office is examining possible offenses related to migrant smuggling and the use of fraudulent documentation.

According to current authorities, the procedural relaxations adopted beginning in 2024 created vulnerabilities that may have been exploited by networks or intermediaries. Supporters of the policy argue that these measures were implemented in response to an exceptional humanitarian crisis.

One fact remains clear: the recall of Consul Rafael du Monceau, the suspension of more than 10,000 visa applications, the inability to locate numerous Haitian minors in Chile, and the opening of an anti-corruption investigation have placed the Chilean Consulate in Haiti at the center of one of the most significant migration-related cases currently under examination in Chile.

Who Verified the Documents of Haitian Minors?

Beyond the potential responsibilities of the Chilean Consulate, the case also raises serious questions on the Haitian side. If thousands of family reunification applications involving minors were approved, how effectively did the child protection mechanisms function? Where were the oversight procedures of the Institute of Social Welfare and Research (IBESR), the Directorate of Immigration and Emigration, and other authorities responsible for authorizing the international travel of minors? If some family relationships were falsified or insufficiently documented, how did these applications pass through the various administrative stages leading to visa approval?

The explanations provided by Chilean authorities largely rely on Haiti’s security crisis and institutional collapse. Yet this justification raises a fundamental question: is it not precisely during periods of institutional fragility that controls involving minors should be strengthened rather than relaxed? Accepting less rigorously verified documentation for adults already carries risks; doing so in cases involving children potentially exposes them to abuse, exploitation, or irregular migration networks. The investigation will therefore need to determine not only who failed in Chile, but also whether Haiti’s child protection mechanisms genuinely fulfilled their intended role.