BRIEFS. international

Chilean politicians demand payments

Some Chilean legislators are calling for the government in that country to demand that Panama compensate the families of the people killed in the crash of SAN-100 in May.

Legislator Iván Moreira, a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said that SAN-100 was a “chatarra,” or scrap, and called upon President Michelle Bachelet to demand compensation for the victims' families. Of the 11 people killed in the crash, five were from Chile, including the country's top police official.

“The government and the Chilean Foreign Ministry must act firmly and ask the government of Panama to assume its responsibility,” Moreira said.

Fellow committee member Jorge Tarud said that Panamanian authorities should be held responsible for the crash.

Two months after the accident, Alejandro Bernales, the eldest son of Chilean Police Chief José Bernales, who was killed in the crash, said that the issues related to the crash investigation should left up to the government agencies to handle internally.

However, Bernales made it clear that he hopes the Panamanian government “understands that it has a responsibility here, that there are families who were left destitute and need coverage.” In Panama, authorities have said only that they have not received any information about a possible lawsuit against the state.