However, one thing is to be the representative of a law abiding country, and quite another is to be the ambassador of a criminal country. This is the situation of Chilean ambassadors, who have to defend the indefensible--the robbery and usurpation of Bolivian and Peruvian territories by Chile¹.

Decades before the 1879-1883 invasion of Bolivia and Peru, Chilean politicians, journalists and even clergymen embarked upon a consistent and portracted propaganda and defamation war against Bolivia and Peru (even though Peru did not share a common border with Chile!). They, preparing public opinion for the impending robbery, said once and again that Bolivia and Peru were “degenerate nations” unworthy of the riches² God and Mother Nature had bestowed upon them, and that both vice-sodden countries had to be “purified” by war³.

Have tux will travel

Even though there was an atmosphere supportive of the intended robbery of land, a few decent Chilean politicians and diplomats understood from the very beginning that the war against two war-torn, poverty-ridden countries was an immoral, in broad daylight sheer robbery. But the ringleaders in Santiago needed a seamless unity--what if a Chilean ambassador backed off or denounced the aggression? They decided not to take any risks.

Soon Chilean policemen and soldiers were rounding-up entire slums and combing criminals’ hideouts. Fair complexioned. illiterate crooks were set aside, bathed, shaven and provided with fashionable suits and hats. Intensive teaching improved something their broken Spanish and finally they were able to mumble a few sentences, just the ones necessary for their mission. As soon as the attack on Bolivia started, the Chilean government immediately sent abroad these criminals under the guise of diplomats, with plenty of money.

These Chilean criminal dandies, picked up and chosen because of their Mafia-like loyalty⁴, put to the test under police duress prior to their recruiment as diplomats, are the founding fathers of Chilean diplomacy. This is why today we hear Chilean diplomats wantonly uttering the most shameless lies or hurling abuse at other countries or governments. They are true to their forefathers’ heritage.
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¹ Read Theft_oriented Chile declares war on Peru on April the 5th, 1879 and Chilean cynicism–“We waged a defensive war”

² Of course, Chileans were the people destined by Providence to put to good use Bolivia’s and Peru’s riches.

³ Needless to say, God had entrusted Chile with the carrying out of this “purification”.

⁴ These thieves, pimps and murderers seldom--if ever--turned police informers even under brutal torture. So the Chilean politicians who recruited them were confident that this rabble would always be staunch defenders of the robbery their country was perpetrating against Bolivia and Peru.