Tension Flares As Chile Detains Bolivian Soldiers

SANTIAGO, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Mar, 2017 ) - Strained relations between Chile and Bolivia hit new turbulence Monday after a group of Bolivian soldiers and officials were detained on the Chilean side of the border for allegedly robbing a truck.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said the two soldiers and seven customs officers robbed one truck laden with goods and "had the intention of robbing several more" before their detention on Sunday.

But her Bolivian counterpart, Evo Morales, called the incident an "attack" in which Chile kidnapped its citizens as they carried out an anti-contraband operation. There is no love lost between the two neighbors, which are currently locked in a bitter border dispute at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The incident came just as Morales's government prepares to submit its response to a counter-suit filed by Chile at the ICJ, the latest legal wrangling in landlocked Bolivia's long-standing struggle to regain access to the Pacific Ocean.

Morales said the incident showed Chile is "nervous" about the court case. Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia said the truck, which had Chilean plates, was carrying contraband into Bolivia escorted by Chilean police.

Chilean police said the Bolivians were arrested in the Chilean municipality of Colchane, in the northern border region of Tarapaca. They will be detained until Wednesday afternoon, investigators said. Both countries' foreign ministries have lodged a formal complaint with the other.