SANTIAGO, Chile, March 11 (UPI) -- Conservative leader José Antonio Kast was sworn in Wednesday as president of Chile, taking office from outgoing leftist President Gabriel Boric and vowing a hardline response to crime and irregular migration.
Kast, a 60-year-old lawyer and former leader of the Republican Party, won the presidency on his third attempt, campaigning on what he called an "emergency government" focused on dismantling organized crime networks and tightening border controls.
The inauguration ceremony was held at Chile's National Congress in the port city of Valparaiso and attended by about 1,100 guests, including some Latin American presidents, Spain's King Felipe VI, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.
The transfer of power came amid heightened security concerns after a police officer was shot in the head during a routine inspection in southern Chile earlier Wednesday.
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