Independent Senator Karim Bianchi, chair of the Senate Public Security Committee, called this Sunday for the United States ambassador to Chile, Brandon Judd, to leave the country. Bianchi described the diplomat's remarks about Chilean sovereignty over the Strait of Magellan and Antarctica as "provocative" and "insulting".
According to T13, the senator spoke on Canal 13's Mesa Central program. "As far as I'm concerned, he should pack his bags and leave quickly," he said. He also described Judd as an unwelcome person in Chile.
The sources do not detail the exact content of the ambassador's statements. They do report that they concerned national sovereignty over both territories.
Bianchi also took aim at Washington. He argued that if the United States president does not remove the ambassador, that would mean he endorses his position. "Chile does not need any patron for this," he said, according to La Tercera.
The senator acknowledged that diplomatic measures depend on the executive branch. He welcomed Chile's response so far but urged President José Antonio Kast's government to take a firmer stance and more far-reaching measures.
His central argument focused on ideological affinities. Bianchi said that closeness to Donald Trump or Argentine President Javier Milei is temporary. By contrast, he maintained, the country's sovereignty and dignity are permanent and nonnegotiable.
The complaint is not isolated. Communist Party President Lautaro Carmona had already backed calling for Judd's diplomatic expulsion, accusing him on TVN of questioning Chilean sovereignty in his public remarks.
In the same interview, Bianchi warned about tensions with Argentina. His concern stems from a Chilean ship reportedly set to carry food supplies from Punta Arenas to the Falkland Islands, a British territory claimed by Argentina.
If Argentina attempts to block the ship's passage, he said, Chile should respond reciprocally and block Argentine trucks traveling through its territory. The senator recalled that treaties recognize freedom of transit.
Along those lines, he called on Kast to speak out. "It's one thing for them to be friends and for both of them to go around dancing with a chainsaw," he said sarcastically, referring to Kast's relationship with Milei.
Bianchi also denounced the lack of funding for maritime oversight of the strait. He asked whether it would be turned into a corridor for drug trafficking. He added that sovereignty in remote regions requires investment in infrastructure, connectivity and public services.
Meanwhile, the senator defended his support for the government's constitutional reform on security, despite his criticism. He explained that he seeks to unblock around 30 bills pending in his committee. Among them, he prioritizes amending Law 18,216, on alternative sentences, to restrict that benefit for crimes such as kidnapping for ransom and arms trafficking.
