Venezuelans crossing border to escape economic, political crisis

Every day, about 5,000 citizens leave Venezuela due to the heavy social and economic crisis. This is the largest migration in Latin America’s new history. More than one million Venezuelans migrated to Colombia during the first nine months of 2018, and 676,000 went to other countries, according to the report of the Colombian immigration authorities.

“From January to September 2018, more than a million Venezuelans entered Colombian territory and 676,000 went to third countries, mainly Ecuador, Peru, Chile, the United States and Mexico”, says the statement of the Venezuelan Migration Office.

According to UN figures, nearly 1.9 million people have left Venezuela since 2015, escaping the economic and political crisis. Every day, about 5,000 citizens leave the country.

Reluctant to recognize the migratory wave, the Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has asked the UN to “justify” its statistics.

Meanwhile, thousands of Venezuelans have gathered on Peru’s northern border with Ecuador. They’re hoping to get into the country before a deadline to apply for a residency permit. A line of Venezuelans stood for hours on Peru’s northern border with Ecuador. Many had traveled thousands of miles through Colombia and Ecuador hitching rides, some on buses and others by foot. All of those people were trying to enter the country before the end of Wednesday, in order to be eligible for a temporary residency permit.

Colombian President Ivan Duque Marquez said at the end of September that the arrival of one million Venezuelan migrants could cost 0.5% of Colombia’s gross domestic product this year, or about 1.348 billion USD

While the World Bank said in a report released on Friday that arrival of more than a million Venezuelans fleeing a deep social and economic crisis in their country could lead to economic growth in Colombia, if the country takes the right steps to manage the migrant crisis.