News of jose antonio kast

Chile President Kast raises ghosts of the past for dictatorship victims

Today 09:51 Since taking office in March 2026, José Antonio Kast has moved to cut funding for human rights programmes and has quietly reduced the sentences of at least three perpetrators of crimes committed during the 1973-1990 Pinochet dictatorship.

LATIN AMERICAN POLITICS

Support slips for Latin America's new right-wing leaders

20-10-2026 09:07 Polls show support slipping for recently elected conservative leaders across Latin America. But is this just a blip?

LATIN AMERICA TURNS RIGHT

Chile and Bolivia seek diplomatic reset in new right-wing alignment

15-10-2026 11:42 Chile’s President José Antonio Kast will meet his Bolivian counterpart Rodrigo Paz in a rare state visit to La Paz on Friday; Two leaders are expected to discuss new logistical corridors, energy trade and enhanced border security.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Milei vindicates 1973 overthrow of Chile’s Allende in Santiago

03-09-2026 18:08 Argentina’s president calls for left-wing ideas to be “banished” as he addresses right-wing summit in Santiago.

CRIME & SECURITY

Argentina joins regional alliance in bid to curb spread of organised crime

29-05-2026 11:46 New group comprises five South American countries, who will work together on intelligence, immigration control, crime-fighting ; Working group will meet in six months’ time.

NEW ERA IN CHILE

Kast's Chile axes plans to give papers to almost 200,000 migrants

30-03-2026 11:55 President José Antonio Kast's government also announces it will reverse expropriation of Pinochet-era torture centre.

GLOBAL ENERGY MARKET

Oil surge elicits tough love from Trump’s Latin American allies

29-03-2026 10:23 The crisis in the Strait of Hormuz is rippling beyond Asia. Though Latin America is far from the key oil and gas artery that’s been mostly choked off by Iran, it’s still heavily exposed to oil price volatility.

RACE FOR UN SECRETARY GENERAL

Argentine diplomat Virginia Gamba removed from UN secretary-general race

26-03-2026 17:48 Argentine diplomat Virginia Gamba removed from list of candidates for UN secretary-general after Maldives withdraws backing for her candidacy; Boost for fellow Argentine Rafael Grossi; Days ago, Chile pulled support for ex-president Michelle Bachelet’s candidacy.

POLITICS

Milei’s approval rating hits new low as unemployment rises

26-03-2026 08:51 President Javier Milei’s approval rating fell in March to the lowest level since he took office; La Libertad Avanza leader fell behind Axel Kicillof in monthly AtlasIntel poll.

RACE FOR UN SECRETARY GENERAL

New Chile President Kast withdraws support for Bachelet's UN chief bid

24-03-2026 20:41 New hard-right President Jose Antonio Kast says promoting Michelle Bachelet's candidacy would entail "a significant cost" for Chile and pulls backing.

NEW ERA IN CHILE

Chile’s new President Kast to signal swift alignment with Trump

11-03-2026 14:21 Kast’s new administration plans to sign broad agreements with the United States to boost cooperation on critical minerals and security matters.

NEW ERA IN CHILE

José Antonio Kast, Chile's most right-wing president since Pinochet, takes office

11-03-2026 12:02 José Antonio Kast's rise comes amid a conservative wave sweeping Latin America and after Trump's re-election in the United States.

TRUMP & THE AMERICAS

Trump convenes Latin American leaders to curb crime, immigration

07-03-2026 08:21 Summit at Trump's golf club in Doral, Florida, marks the latest instance of the president moving ahead with his so-called "Donroe Doctrine" of asserting expanded US authority in the Western Hemisphere.

GEOPOLITICS

Trump’s Latin American allies face a dilemma over China, Iran war

06-03-2026 13:11 Donald Trump is gathering his top allies from Latin America at a moment when a new US military conflict is putting even his best friends in the region under newfound pressure.

ANALYSIS

Trump takes anti-China crusade to Chile ahead of Latin America summit

23-02-2026 17:35 Chile for decades finessed the geopolitical rivalry between China, its top trading partner, and the US, its leading foreign investor. Those days seem to be over.

PRESIDENT ON TOUR

Milei travels to US for Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ meeting

18-02-2026 17:47 President will attend the first edition of new Trump-led council that aims to resolve conflict in the Middle East.

GEOPOLITICS & DIPLOMACY

‘Davos of Latin America’ tests Lula’s regional clout

28-01-2026 21:30 First gathering of regional heads of state since the United States captured Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, sparking outrage from Lula but praise from other leaders.

Politics in Chile

Chile president picks Pinochet lawyers as ministers of human rights, defence

21-01-2026 11:24 Chile's right-wing president-elect names two ex-lawyers of former dictator Augusto Pinochet to lead the ministries of defence and human rights.

DIPLOMACY & FOREIGN POLICY

Argentina leads bloc to stop CELAC rebuke of US action in Venezuela

05-01-2026 13:19 Buenos Aires leads group of regional governments in preventing unanimous CELAC statement condemning Washington’s actions in Venezuela, highlighting political divisions across Latin America.

Foreign relations & diplomacy

Milei eyes regional LatAm bloc to tackle ‘cancer of socialism’

02-01-2026 10:23 Argentina’s president says he is working with up to 10 regional right-wing leaders to form a bloc that will “embrace the ideas of freedom” and tackle “the cancer of socialism.”

Foreign relations & diplomacy

Report: Milei mulls right-wing summit as allies advance in Latin America

26-12-2025 10:15 President Milei studying potential summit of right-wing leaders in Argentina following recent election wins for allies.

CAMPAIGN COMMENTS

Is Kast caste?

20-12-2025 07:31 While Bolivia, Honduras and now Chile have all swung right in recent voting, Trump’s pet candidate in each nation had problems riding the crest of the wave.

by Michael Soltys

LATIN AMERCIAN POLITICS

Milei embraces Chile's president-elect Kast, cementing right-wing alliance

17-12-2025 10:14 Argentina's president is eagerly embracing José Antonio Kast as another partner in a right-wing project he sees himself as commanding across the region.

ANALYSIS

Chile follows Latin American neighbours in lurching right

16-12-2025 07:49 Leftist leaders have not won a single presidential election in Latin America this year as voters opt for change.

CHILE ELECTION 2025

President-elect Kast faces hard choices as Chile enters new era

15-12-2025 16:12 Chile's hard-right president-elect José Antonio Kast will inherit a stalled economy, high crime rates and a fractured Congress.

CHILE ELECTION 2025

Chile shifts right as Pinochet fan Kast wins election run-off by landslide

15-12-2025 15:32 Voters elected José Antonio Kast, the most right-wing president in 35 years of Chilean democracy, with a thumping 58 percent of vote in run-off against Jeannette Jara.

Foreign policy & diplomacy

Milei's new challenge: Becoming Trump's delegate in Latin America

20-11-2025 00:39 Argentina’s government cheered last Sunday's election result in Chile and is already imagining a right-wing regional bloc led by President Javier Milei.

by Alejandro Gomel

CHILE ELECTION 2025

‘America’s freedom advances’ – Argentina’s Milei and Chile’s Kast speak

18-11-2025 15:50 Pinochet admirer holds discussion with Argentina's libertarian leader after first round of Chilean election.

ANALYSIS

Crime, economic woes push South American voters to right

18-11-2025 15:36 Reasons why South Americans are electing right-wing candidates this year differ in each country, but they’re all driving the region in the same political direction.

CHILE ELECTION 2025

A pragmatic communist and a far-right leader: Chile's presidential finalists

17-11-2025 12:22 Leftist candidate Jeannette Jara and far-right leader José Antonio Kast will go head-to-head in Chile's presidential run-off next month.

CHILE ELECTION 2025

Three takeaways from Chile's election

17-11-2025 12:16 With the sum of the votes cast on the right more than doubling those on the left, José Antonio Kast can expect to dramatically expand his vote in the second round.

CHILE ELECTION 2025

Leftist, far-right candidates advance to Chilean presidential run-off

17-11-2025 12:13 Chile's leftist former labour minister Jeannette Jara and far-right leader José Antonio Kast will go head-to-head in a presidential run-off after topping Sunday's first round of voting in an election dominated by violent crime.

CHILE ELECTION 2025

Chile assets soar as election paves way for right-wing president

17-11-2025 12:01 José Antonio Kast emerged victorious among a field of right-wing candidates whose supporters he’s now likely to pick up, positioning him as the favourite in the December 14 run-off. Jeannette Jara moved on to the second round but with fewer votes than expected.

CHILE ELECTION 2025

Chile’s right targets migrants ahead of election

12-11-2025 16:37 Chile’s political right is seizing on anti-migrant sentiment ahead of Sunday’s elections. But beneath the hardline rhetoric lies an economy increasingly dependent on foreign workers.

CHILE ELECTION 2025

A Communist, YouTuber or Pinochet fan? Chile's presidential candidates

11-11-2025 22:46 Eight candidates are competing in Sunday's first round of voting for one of two spots in December's run-off – here's a look at the four leading the polls.

CHILE ELECTION 2025

Calls for 'mano dura' as crime-rattled Chile votes for president

11-11-2025 21:11 Illegal migration is a central issue in Chile's election campaign, with a majority of citizens linking a rise in crime to the migration wave; Left-winger Jeannette Jara is leading the polls, but would likely be defeated in a potential run-off against Pinochet cheerleader José Antonio Kast.

Kast Migrant Policy

Chile’s far-right candidate says migrants must pay for their own deportation

28-10-2025 15:50 Far-right candidate José Antonio Kast pledges migrants will cover their own deportation costs as Chile’s election campaign intensifies.

CHILEAN ELECTION 2025

Frontrunners in Chile's presidential race offer contrasting futures

19-08-2025 10:12 Eight candidates are running to be Chile's next president, with right winger José Antonio Kast – who has run for the top office twice before – and leftist Jeannette Jara leading the polls.