Venezuela exodus set to top 5 million

With roughly 5,000 people leaving the country each day, the exodus from Venezuela is expected to reach 5 million in the coming months, UN and EU officials revealed.

Addressing a news conference in Geneva, Eduardo Stein, UNHCR and IOM’s Joint Special Representative for Venezuelan refugees and migrants, said that even if the crisis in Venezuela were solved today, it would likely be at least two years before some 4.5 million people who have already fled the country would be ready to return. He added that a regional humanitarian response plan of US$739 million for this year is expected to nearly double for 2020.

EFE reports from the border towns of La Parada and Villa del Rosario in Colombia, which has received the largest number of Venezuelans. Villa del Rosario’s mayor said that the town’s population had risen by 23 per cent in three months and that authorities were struggling to cope. He said those arriving in the town from Venezuela were increasingly poor and unable to move on to other parts of the country.

Via UNHCR