There was a shootout between the would-be robbers and security officials that killed an employee of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, or DGAC, as well as an alleged assailant.
The other robbers fled. Two burned vehicles were later found nearby.
“The brave action by the DGAC officials frustrated the robbery,” Monsalve said, noting that the would-be robbers were “highly organized” and “very armed.”
Video posted on social media appeared to show bullet holes in a Delta plane that was parked next to the Latam aircraft that was targeted. Another video appears to show a moment in the shootout during which a lot of gunshots can be heard.
“There was no risk to passengers,” DGAC chief Raúl Jorquera said.
The attempted heist targeted the $32.5 million that were set to be transferred to an armored truck to then be distributed to several banks in the South American country.
The attempted robbery “will undoubtedly lead us to revise processes, protocols that must be improved … it forces us to rethink many things,” Jorquera said.
This was not the first time the airport in Chile’s capital was targeted. In 2020, thieves stole some $15 million from a warehouse in the airport, six years after a similar $10 million heist.
President Gabriel Boric referred tp the heist during a speech Wednesday in which he said that “when there’s insecurity, everything else wobbles.”
An increase in violent crime has contributed to a decline in Boric’s approval ratings lately, according to polls.
