The number of Venezuelan refugees and migrants who have left the country has now reached 3.4 million, according to UN data which also shows the vast majority of them – some 2.7 million – are being hosted in other nations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The data – gathered by UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, and the International Organization for Migration – shows that Colombia hosts more than 1.1 million refugees and migrants from Venezuela, the highest of any country, followed by Peru (506,000), Chile (288,000), Ecuador (221,000), Argentina (130,000) and Brazil (96,000).
Eduardo Stein, the joint UNHCR-IOM special representative for Venezuelan refugees and migrants, said the figures underscored the strain being placed on host communities.
To date, Latin American countries have granted about 1.3 million residency permits and other forms of regular status to Venezuelans. Since 2014, more than 390,000 claims for asylum have been lodged by Venezuelans, with close to 60 per cent of those lodged in the last year alone.
Venezuelan security forces, acting on the orders of the government of President Nicolas Maduro, have recently moved to close borders with other nations in an effort to prevent the entry of humanitarian aid. Largely from the US, it has been organised by opposition figures including Juan Guaido, who has declared himself interm president.
On the weekend, Venezuelan security forces opened fire on civilians with live ammunition and rubber bullets at the country’s borders with Brazil and Colombia after people attempted to cross the border to obtain food and medicines. The clashes reportedly left at least two people dead while a number of Venezuelan soldiers – estimated at as many as 100 – reportedly defected into Colombia.
On Sunday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Maduro’s “days are numbered”.
Last week, Venezuela’s Catholic bishops released a statement calling for humanitarian aid to be allowed into the country.
“The general deterioration of living conditions has led the country to extreme situations, particularly in the field of food and health,” they said in a statement according to Agenzia Fides. The bishops said that the aid – which consists mainly of emergency rations, supplements for children and the elderly, and medical supplies – “does not replace what the state must do with its resources”. They also stated their opposition to “all types of violence”
