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Latin American states urge Venezuela to accept aid to alleviate migration crisis

Iran Press TV

Wed Sep 5, 2018 05:36AM

A group of Latin American countries has urged Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to accept humanitarian aid to alleviate a migration crisis originating from Venezuela and affecting the region.

Nearly two and a half million Venezuelans have reportedly fled an ongoing, acute economic crisis in their homeland to neighboring countries in the past couple of years.

On Tuesday, officials from a dozen Latin American countries signed a declaration after a two-day meeting in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito, calling for "the creation of a humanitarian assistance mechanism that will allow the critical situation to be alleviated" and that would target "the source" of the issue.

The meeting was attended by officials from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay, and Bolivia.

Venezuela had also been invited, according to Ecuador; but it did not show up.

Bolivia, an ally of Venezuela, refused to sign the declaration.

The resolution also called on Venezuela to "accept the cooperation of governments in the region and international organizations" to care for the communities of their nations living in Venezuela.

Venezuela did not welcome the idea.

The president of the government-allied Constituent National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, called the offer "disgusting" and "shameful."

Ecuador, Colombia and Peru – the three countries hosting most of the Venezuelan migrants – have already called for more funding from developed countries to assist their public services.

The European Union (EU) announced a $35-million aid package on Friday to support Venezuelans both at home and in host countries.

Ecuador has said aid from regional multilateral organizations is also being sought.

The Latin American countries also called on Maduro to ensure that migrants have identification cards and travel documents in order to easily cross borders.

But Chile's director of consular affairs and immigration, Raul Sanhueza, said "expired documents for migratory purposes" would also be accepted.

Many of the Venezuelan economic migrants have been using national ID cards to pass through the borders, but regional countries, including Peru and Ecuador, announced new restrictions in August that prohibit Venezuelans to cross the border without a valid passport.

Still, they have been taking in certain numbers of the migrants without valid passports on humanitarian grounds.

Venezuela, once Latin America's richest nation, has been battling hyperinflation at levels unmatched by any other country. According to a survey carried out by the US firm Gallup, some 53 percent of Venezuelans, between 15 and 29, would like to move abroad permanently.

The Venezuelan president has launched a plan to persuade the emigrants to get back to their country. Only some 100 people have agreed to return so far.