The interim government of Juan Guaidó celebrated the temporary protection status granted by the United States to Venezuelan migrants: “It is an urgent and necessary measure”.

Juan Guaidó’s interim government on Monday celebrated President Joe Biden’s administration’s decision to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Venezuelans on North American soil.

Carlos vecchio, The Ambassador of the Venezuelan Interim Government in this North American country, issued an allusive statement in which he thanked both President Biden and the North American country “for this act of solidarity which must be reproduced by the community international “. “It is an urgent and necessary measure that we have promoted and which is now becoming a reality,” added the official.

The diplomat in turn detailed that the TPS will benefit approximately 323,000 Venezuelans “victims of the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro, who were forced to flee their country of origin because of the cruelest regime in Latin America”. “This measure will allow them to live, work and be legally protected in the United States,” he explained.

In this sense, he stressed that “Venezuelans are hardworking, intelligent and productive people who have a lot to contribute to the progress and prosperity of the United States”.

He also announced that it is a temporary measure, “Initially for 18 months, until the conditions that allow us to return to Venezuela are restored.”

A senior US government official told reporters, on condition of anonymity, that the measure would be in effect for 18 this period due to “extraordinary temporary circumstances” in the Caribbean country. “The return of the Venezuelans is not certain,” the official said.

“We receive TPS as an additional measure from the United States to support the struggle for a free Venezuela and, in this sense, we maintain the central objective: end the criminal and corrupt dictatorship of Maduro, end the pain and suffering of our people and restore our democracy and freedom through free, fair and verifiable presidential elections; an objective shared by the United States “Vecchio remarked.

In the announcement, the Biden government emphasized that this benefit is exclusive to those already present in the United States on the day of the announcement, Monday, March 8. “If someone arrives tomorrow or a day later, he does not qualify,” warned the senior official.

The plight of Venezuelans in the United States has been present in the political debate in Washington for years. In fact, before stepping down from the executive, the now former Republican President Donald Trump granted them protection against evictions, called Delayed Forced Departure (DED, for its acronym in English).

The United States – like more than 50 countries – does not recognize Nicolás Maduro’s regime because it considers his second term to be illegitimate due to irregularities in the 2018 presidential elections. Instead, they recognize Juan Guaidó as interim president to head the National Assembly (AN). It also does not recognize the National Assembly appointed by the regime, considering that it also qualified as illegitimate the legislative elections of December 2020, also boycotted by the opposition for lack of guarantees. In this line, continues to recognize the legislative body elected in 2015 and chaired by Guaidó.

Established by Congress by the Immigration Act of 1990, TPS is a renewable program that protects from deportation and grants work permits to foreigners from certain countries who cannot return home safely due to natural disasters, armed conflicts or other extraordinary conditions.

Unlike a visa, it does not grant a path to permanent residence in the United States, but provides legal residence and a permit to work in that territory.

The United States has granted TPS to countries like Honduras and Nicaragua following the devastating Hurricane Mitch in 1998, to El Salvador following a series of earthquakes in 2001, to Haiti in 2010 for its earthquake. catastrophic land, and in Sudan in 2014 because of the south. Conflict in Sudan. Citizens of Syria, Nepal, Yemen and Somalia have also benefited from this protection. With the announcement of this Monday, the Venezuelan will be “the second most important population to receive an immigration measure of this level after El Salvador”Vecchio indicated.

Venezuela is going through a serious economic and humanitarian crisis and is the subject of serious complaints for human rights violations, a situation that has led 5.4 million people to flee their country, according to UN figures.

In February, Colombia, the main destination for Venezuelans who fled their country, announced a regularization plan for nearly a million migrants on its territory.

With information from AFP and EFE

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