The Latest From Venezuela

Venezuela Snapshot – September15, 2019

A brief overview of events impacting Venezuela in the past two weeks The Mixed Migration Centre released a report earlier this month which finds that most people now leaving Venezuela are poor, often with medical conditions and other vulnerabilities. Recent introduction of stricter immigration requirements by several countries in the region means more Venezuelans relying on smugglers to cross borders irregularly. Lack of legal status obstructs access to many services and to work opportunities, exposing them to an increased risk of exploitation. Currently nothing indicates the exodus from Venezuela will ease any time soon, making essential long-term planning by countries receiving them. Madrid has become the main destination for Venezuelan asylum-seekers who can afford to fly there. Spain is processing record numbers of Venezuelan asylum applications: 23,000 new applications the first part of this year – double the same period last year. Some Venezuelans arrive with enough money to buy apartments in Madrid’s wealthy districts, but many begin their new lives almost from scratch, having sold everything to get to Spain. Venezuelan refugees and migrants without funds to travel by bus to reach Colombian cities or other countries are trekking hundreds of kilometers on foot. The journey from the Colombian border involves climbing from near sea level to an altitude of over 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) as “caminantes” (“trekkers”) approach the Berlín mountain pass . Most “caminantes” are ill-equipped for the frigid temperatures at the top of the pass. Some eat and sleep at shelters along the way, but others are forced to sleep along the side of the road. In this video, one woman explains why she felt she had no choice but to risk the journey with her three young children. The European Union will give an additional €30 million (US$33 million) in aid to Colombia to help it deal with an influx of Venezuelan refugees and migrants. Colombian President Duque announced that Colombia and the EU will hold a conference in Brussels next month in a bid to raise more funding for Latin American countries hosting Venezuelans. Several countries in the region have recently tightened entry requirements for Venezuelans, increasing the pressure on Colombia and Brazil, which have so far kept their borders open. The small Caribbean islands Trinidad and Tobago have received 40,000 Venezuelans fleeing economic and political upheaval. Trinidad and Tobago lack refugee legislation but for two weeks in June the government allowed Venezuelans to register to live and work. The amnesty period caused controversy among locals anxious about the lack of jobs. Registration points in Trinidad and Tobago during a June amnesty for Venezuelans were inundated, leaving many unregistered. Those able to register have only received one-year work permits and their children are still not allowed to attend school. Some Trinidadians have set up volunteer groups to provide families with free medical checks and to teach the children math and English. The socio-economic and human rights situation in Venezuela is continuing to deteriorate and is having “clear destabilizing impacts on the region”, said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet. In an update, she said that 4.3 million Venezuelans have already left the country and warned that the exodus is likely to continue. Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern about reports of outbreaks of xenophobia in countries in the region hosting Venezuelans, and called on national authorities to avoid measures that could result in increased irregular migration. She said her office continues to document cases of Venezuelan migrants being trafficked for sexual exploitation, labor, and recruitment by armed groups. Juan Guaidó, interim Venezuelan President: “All our resistance, civic pressure, and citizenry has been worth the effort.  All our years of struggle makes sense, and this is Venezuela.  For our country, we take on whatever risks are necessary. One monthly minimum wage in Venezuela will not buy one box of school pencils. The Maduro regime owes 3,8 billion dollars to international airlines. The Norway-brokered Barbados dialogues between the Maduro regime and the Guadió interim government are at an end due to the prolonged absence of any representatives from the regime.  In saber-rattling posturing, the Maduro regime has again deployed the Venezuelan army along the border with Colombia this month for war games, increasing tensions between the two troubled nations. Meanwhile, President Nicolas Maduro says he will not attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week. Last week Venezuelan ministry leaders received training, at the Cross-Cultural Missionary Training Center at the Baptist Camp, from the Trauma Healing Institute.   Fifty leaders received basic Level I training and will now be forming groups of people who will go through the healing steps.  A second group of thirty-eight leaders, who received Level I training last year in Colombia, were trained in Level II, which allows them to train healing group facilitators.   In Spanish the name of this Bible-based material is “Sanando las Heridas del Corazón” (Healing the Wounds of the Heart), a better description.  Interested parties may look up information about the Trauma Healing Institute on the American Bible Society web site.   Last year’s Venezuelan and Colombian participants started over a fifty groups this past year.  Many people were blessed by the healing process.  The intent is that groups formed for the Sanando las Heridas del Corazón process continue on as Bible studies and cell groups.     . .