International

The U.S. State Department warned on Thursday that it had seen indications of Russian “influence” on recent unrest in Chile, where two weeks of protests and riots have rocked the administration of President Sebastian Pinera.

A senior State Department official said there were “clear indications” people were taking advantage of the unrest in Chile - prompted by inequality and rising living costs - and “skewing it through the use and abuse of social media, trolling.”

“We have seen indications of Russian activity supporting this negative course of the debate,” the official said.

Chilean officials did not immediately comment on the remarks. Russia has previously said it does not interfere in other countries’ internal affairs.

The White House had earlier said in a statement that U.S. President Donald Trump “denounced foreign efforts to undermine Chilean institutions, democracy, or society.”

Chile has been mired in chaos over the last two weeks, which led center-right Pinera on Wednesday to abruptly withdraw Chile as host of an upcoming APEC summit and a major climate change conference, to “take care of problems at home.”