<\/p>\n
\u201cDos granos de uva encontrados con trazas de cianuro han decantado en una amplia alarma internacional sobre la fruta, la que amenaza con envenenar las relaciones entre Estados Unidos y Chile\u201d Sun Sentinel, 17 de marzo de 1989.<\/em><\/p>\n Muchos de ustedes recordar\u00e1n este incidente en Filadelfia que nunca se \u201cresolvi\u00f3\u201d y que en definitiva cost\u00f3 a los exportadores chilenos millones de d\u00f3lares. Es f\u00e1cil propagar el p\u00e1nico; solo int\u00e9ntelo gritando \u201c\u00a1Elba Lazo!\u201d en un aeropuerto…<\/p>\n A fines de enero del 2010, fui al aeropuerto de Santiago, tambi\u00e9n conocido como \u201cAeropuerto International Comodoro Arturo Merino Ben\u00edtez\u201d, para recibir a mi hermana y mi cu\u00f1ado en su vuelo internacional.<\/p>\n El terminal estaba repleto, pero logr\u00e9 encontrar casi un metro cuadrado donde colocarme y estudi\u00e9 la pantalla de arribos. El vuelo hab\u00eda aterrizado a tiempo, eso -de hecho- eran buenas noticias. Para evitar el dolor de cuello y los penetrantes olores de gente demasiado emocionada, me fui al segundo piso que tiene vista a la sala de arribos. Para mi felicidad vi a Felicia y Emil esperando sus maletas en la huincha. Nos vimos, sonre\u00edmos, saludamos con las manos y nos tiramos besos. \u00a1Me sent\u00eda euf\u00f3rico!<\/p>\n Volv\u00ed al caos del \u00c1rea de Recepci\u00f3n Internacional y me qued\u00e9 con la vista fija en dos monitores de TV que mostraban a pasajeros dejando el \u00e1rea de aduanas y abri\u00e9ndose paso para entrar a Chile. Esper\u00e9 un largo rato. Llegaron otros vuelos y desparramaron a sus pasajeros en el \u00c1rea de Recepci\u00f3n. \u00bfD\u00f3nde estaban Felicia y Emil?<\/p>\n Finalmente, Felicia apareci\u00f3 y parec\u00eda feliz de verme, aunque al mismo tiempo perturbada. Abrac\u00e9 a mi hermana. Me dijo que el bolso con sus palos de golf y equipo de pesca no hab\u00eda llegado y que esto necesitaba una larga espera para \u201cregistrar\u201d el extrav\u00edo. La mand\u00e9 de vuelta a asegurarse de que la aerol\u00ednea (nuestro propio amado orgullo de Chile…) ten\u00eda los n\u00fameros de tel\u00e9fono y la direcci\u00f3n correctos.<\/p>\n Volvi\u00f3 a\u00fan m\u00e1s descolocada. \u00a1\u00a1Emil hab\u00eda sido arrestado!! Despu\u00e9s de haber sacado sus maletas, menos una claro, hab\u00eda pasado por aduana y le preguntaron si una mochila era de \u00e9l. As\u00ed era. \u00bfPod\u00eda explicar por qu\u00e9 hab\u00eda cinco uvas (y dos mandarinas) al fondo?<\/p>\n \u201cAh, no se preocupe por eso; qu\u00e9deselas. En realidad, \u00a1no las necesito!\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a1Ja! Eso no se iba a resolver f\u00e1cilmente.<\/p>\n Emil fue llevado a un \u00e1rea separada, donde se sent\u00f3 con otros contrabandistas de gran reputaci\u00f3n: todos extranjeros, la mayor\u00eda ancianos con andadores, bastones y todos confundidos. Una se\u00f1ora muy viejita se aferraba pat\u00e9ticamente a los restos de un s\u00e1ndwich de jam\u00f3n que romp\u00eda las reglas.<\/p>\n Emil, quien a sus 77 a\u00f1os est\u00e1 en extrema buena forma, \u00a1se sent\u00eda fuera de su grupo et\u00e1reo!<\/p>\n Felicia estaba furiosa; en especial porque les hab\u00eda dicho lo que no pod\u00edan traer a Chile y ella se lo hab\u00eda recordado a Emil. Lo dej\u00f3 en manos de las autoridades y volvi\u00f3 hasta donde estaba yo. Uno siempre est\u00e1 cansado despu\u00e9s de un vuelo largo y el estr\u00e9s adicional de perder una maleta y luego tener al marido arrestado era casi m\u00e1s que lo podr\u00eda soportar.<\/p>\n Conversamos y mantuvimos la calma por casi una hora hasta que finalmente Emil pas\u00f3 lentamente a trav\u00e9s de las puertas el\u00e9ctricas para unirse a nosotros. \u00c9l sonre\u00eda radiantemente; Felicia \u00a1no!<\/p>\n Emil nos dijo que hab\u00eda sido \u201cinvestigado, acusado, citado, hallado culpable, multado y luego perdonado\u201d. Nos dijo que el procedimiento hab\u00eda sido formal y exhaustivo, pero que no hab\u00eda entendido \u00a1ni una sola palabra! Hab\u00eda firmado donde le hab\u00edan pedido y fue \u201cliberado\u201d junto con una copia de los \u201cpapeles de procedimiento\u201d.<\/p>\n Algunos hechos:<\/p>\n \u00b7 <\/span>La multa: 112.929 pesos (3 UTM o US$236)<\/p>\n \u00b7 <\/span>El Producto: Dos mandarinas que pesaban 0,135 kg y un peque\u00f1o pu\u00f1ado de uvas de 0,130 kg. Estas fueron descartadas para incineraci\u00f3n.<\/p>\n \u00b7 <\/span>La Documentaci\u00f3n: Acusaci\u00f3n y Citaci\u00f3n; la Evidencia; el Acto de Destrucci\u00f3n y finalmente el Resumen del Caso, que inclu\u00eda la maravillosa frase: \u201cAbsu\u00e9lvase, por esta \u00fanica vez…\u201d.<\/p>\n Una vez que nos abrazamos y o\u00edmos un breve recuento de los hechos, partimos hacia la relativa seguridad de mi auto. Emil en realidad estaba bastante entretenido; finalmente, y sin ning\u00fan tipo de esfuerzo, \u00a1ten\u00eda un registro delictual! Sin embargo, tambi\u00e9n estaba muy impresionado. Si bien no entendi\u00f3 nada, dijo que el sistema funcionada y que Chile deb\u00eda proteger sus fronteras de tontos como \u00e9l.<\/p>\n Emil y Felicia volver\u00e1n a Chile el pr\u00f3ximo a\u00f1o. Felicia tiene \u00f3rdenes de revisar cada una de las maletas de Emil y \u201crevisarlo desnudo\u201d antes de salir de casa.<\/p>\n Sigo, fastidiosamente consciente de los riesgos que implica desafiar las normas del Servicio Agr\u00edcola y Ganadero de Chile (SAG).<\/p>\n Santiago Eneldo.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cTwo grapes found to contain traces of cyanide have fermented into a spreading international fruit scare that threatens to poison relations between the United States and Chile.\u201d Sun Sentinel, March 17, 1989.<\/em><\/p>\n Many of you will remember this incident in Philadelphia which was never \u201cresolved\u201d and ultimately cost Chilean exporters millions of dollars. It is easy to spread panic; just try shouting \u201cHi, Jack!\u201d in an airport…<\/p>\n In late January 2010 I went to the Santiago Airport, also known as the \u201cComodoro Arturo Merino Ben\u00edtez International Airport\u201d, to greet my sister and brother-in-law off their international flight.<\/p>\n The terminal was overcrowded but I was able to find one square foot to stand on and studied the Arrivals board. The flight had landed on time \u2013 this was indeed good news. To avoid neck strain and the pungent odour of overexcited people, I headed to the second floor which has a view of the Arrivals lounge. To my delight I saw Felicia and Emil waiting by the carousel for their bags. We made eye contact; smiles, waves and blown kisses were exchanged. I felt elated!<\/p>\n I returned to the chaos of the International Reception Area and stood with eyes fixed on two TV monitors showing passengers leaving the customs area and squeezing their way into Chile. I waited a long time. Other flights arrived and spilled their passengers into the Reception Area. Where were Felicia and Emil?<\/p>\n Finally, Felicia appeared looking pleased to see me but at the same time distraught. I hugged my sister. She told me the bag with their golf clubs and fishing gear had not arrived and this required a long wait to \u201cregister\u201d the loss. I sent her back to ensure the airline (our own beloved, pride of Chile…) had the correct address and telephone numbers.<\/p>\n She returned even more distraught. Emil had been arrested!! Having collected their bags, less one of course, they had gone through customs and Emil was asked if a certain backpack was his. It was. Could he explain the five grapes (and two mandarins) in the bottom?<\/p>\n \u201cOh, don\u2019t worry about those; keep them \u2013 I don\u2019t need them, really!\u201d<\/p>\n Ha! This was not to be so easily resolved.<\/p>\n Emil was taken to a segregated area where he sat with other smugglers of great repute \u2013 all foreigners, mostly geriatric with zimmer frames, sticks and coke bottle glasses and all looking dumbfounded. One very elderly lady clutched pathetically at the remains of an \u201coffending\u201d ham sandwich. Emil, who is an extremely fit 77, felt out of his age group!<\/p>\n Felicia was furious; especially so because I had told them what they could not bring into Chile and she had reminded Emil. She left him in the hands of the authorities and returned to me. You are always tired after a long flight and the added stress of losing one bag and then having your husband arrested was almost more than she could bear.<\/p>\n We chatted and remained calm for almost an hour until finally Emil sauntered through the electronic doors to join us. He smiled radiantly; Felicia did not!<\/p>\n Emil told us he had been \u201cinvestigated, accused, cited, found guilty, fined and then forgiven\u201d. He told us the procedure had been formal and thorough but that he had not understood a word! He had signed where requested and was \u201creleased\u201d together with a copy of the \u201cprocedural papers\u201d.<\/p>\n Some facts:<\/p>\n \u00b7 <\/span>The Fine: 112,929 pesos (3 UTM or US$236)<\/p>\n \u00b7 <\/span>The Produce: Two mandarins weighing in at 0.135 kgs and one small bunch of grapes at 0.130 kgs. These were dispatched for incineration.<\/p>\n \u00b7 <\/span>The Documentation: Accusation and Citation; the Evidence; the Act of Destruction and finally the Summary of the Case including the wonderful phrase: \u201cAbsu\u00e9lvase, por esta \u00fanica vez….\u201d Forgiven, this one time…<\/p>\n Once we had hugged and listened to a brief account of events we headed for the relative safety of my car. Emil was really quite amused; finally, and with no effort whatsoever, he had a criminal record! However, he was also very impressed. While not understanding anything, he said the system worked and Chile must protect its borders from fools like himself.<\/p>\n Emil and Felicia are returning to Chile next year. Felicia has orders to go through all his bags and to \u201cstrip search\u201d him before leaving home.<\/p>\n I remain, fastidiously aware of the risks of defying SAG (Chile\u2019s Agriculture and Livestock Service) rules.<\/p>\n Santiago Eneldo.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" <\/p>\n \u201cDos granos de uva encontrados con trazas de cianuro han decantado en una amplia alarma internacional sobre la fruta, la que amenaza con envenenar las relaciones entre Estados Unidos y Chile\u201d Sun Sentinel, 17 de marzo de 1989.<\/em><\/p>\n Muchos de ustedes recordar\u00e1n este incidente en Filadelfia que nunca se \u201cresolvi\u00f3\u201d y que en definitiva cost\u00f3 a los exportadores chilenos millones de d\u00f3lares. Es f\u00e1cil propagar el p\u00e1nico; solo int\u00e9ntelo gritando \u201c\u00a1Elba Lazo!\u201d en un aeropuerto…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","news_tax":[],"user_type":[],"class_list":["post-4490","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n