Colombian border chaos as Peru and Ecuador demand passports from the thousands of Venezuelans fleeing economic and humanitarian crisis
Peru and Ecuador have stiffened entry requirements for Venezuelan migrants
Following Ecuador’s example Peru will require all Venezuelans to enter with a passport- a document that has become difficult to obtain in the country
According to the United Nations, 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled since 2014
By BHVISHYA PATEL
DAILYMAIL.COM
18 August 2018
A flood of Venezuelans fleeing their nation’s economic and humanitarian crisis has led two South American nations to stiffen their entry requirements.
Peru announced on Friday that they will follow Ecuador’s recent decision to require all Venezuelans reaching the border to enter with a passport- a document that has become increasingly difficult to obtain in Venezuela.
The decision drew an immediate rebuke from authorities in Colombia, which has become a gateway for Venezuelans leaving their homeland.
An astounding number are now leaving by land, first crossing the borders into Colombia and then travelling to neighbouring Peru and Ecuador.
In Ecuador, authorities estimated more than 4,000 Venezuelans entered each day in early August over the Rumichaca International Bridge.
Though his own country already imposed its own often ignored entry requirements for Venezuelans, Colombia Migration Director Christian Kruger warned against the new passport rule.
He said that it could create a bottleneck at the Rumichaca International Bridge connecting the two countries.
‘We are immensely worried about the consequences this might present,’ he said.
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