Canada has warned that the Venezuelan exodus “could turn into the world’s biggest migration crisis by the end of the year.”

The Minister of International Development of Canada, Karina gould, he warned this Friday in an interview with the press agency EFE What the Venezuelan exodus “could turn into the biggest migratory crisis in the world by the end of the year” and called for international support to countries hosting migrants from that country at the upcoming International Donors’ Conference in Solidarity with Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants.

Canada, which will host the conference on June 17, succeeds Spain, which hosted it last year with support from the European Union (EU), the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR ) and the International Refugee Organization. IOM).

Gould, who concluded a virtual tour of Colombia on Friday in which he met with representatives of the government, the private sector and development organizations, announced that Canada to allocate C $ 29.5 million (US $ 23.3 million) to six projects aimed at mitigating the effects of the pandemic in the fields of education, support for the peace process as well as the empowerment of women and young people in rural areas.

The Canadian minister stressed that “the migratory crisis of Venezuelans, mainly in the Andean region, could turn into the biggest migratory crisis in the world by the end of this year. It needs and requires a response and financial support from around the world to help countries that host migrants. A multilateral response is essential“.

Gould said he had not yet been able to contact the administration of the US president, Joe biden, to face the Venezuelan crisis because his counterpart has not been confirmed in office.

But the Canadian minister added: “I would like to thank and commend Spain’s efforts to raise funds for the response to the migration crisis. Canada to take the lead at next donors’ conference. We are going to follow Spain’s leadership because we really need a strong response from all over the world ”.

Minister Gould described the virtual tour to Colombia, which is the main recipient of Venezuelans with more than 1.7 million refugees and migrants, as “very inspiring”.

“Talking to women leaders in Colombia is always a source of inspiration. And I also had the opportunity to talk to vamany Venezuelan students in Colombia who described the generosity of the communities that welcomed them, the opportunity to continue their studies, the safety and the possibility of making their dreams come true, ”explained the Minister.

Regarding the funds that Canada will allocate to six projects in Colombia, Gould justified the decision of the Canadian government to support these activities because “we are in the same neighborhood and we share a lot, as well as values ​​and objectives. for our societies. Colombia has been a very important partner for Canada over the past decades and Canada has supported the entire peace process for many years.“.

Since 2019, Canada has committed C $ 86 million (US $ 67.9 million) to respond to the crisis in Venezuela.

In another order, the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) denounced that many asylum seekers sent to Mexico by the government of former US President Donald Trump have suffered violence and extortion by Mexican police, immigration officials and criminal groups. Many of them are Venezuelans who fled the crackdown by the Nicolás Maduro regime.

The report says that since January 2019, the United States has – in practice – closed its southern border to asylum seekers, as a result of which many have been exposed to abuse in Mexico.

“The Trump administration, as part of the ‘Stay in Mexico’ program, sent over 71,000 asylum seekers to Mexico while their asylum claims were being processed in the United States. Likewise, since March 2020, the United States government has deported more than 400,000 migrants, many to Mexico, some of whom sought international protection and were denied the opportunity to seek asylum. These latest deportations were carried out citing travel restrictions allegedly imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, ”the NGO said.

“Tens of thousands of migrant families, including Venezuelans seeking protection from torture, political persecution and arbitrary detention, have been abandoned by the governments of the United States and Mexico in a context in which they suffer extortion and violence in Mexico, “he said José Miguel Vivanco, Director for the Americas at Human Rights Watch.

And he added: “Given the positive steps President Biden has taken to overturn some of the Trump administration’s most abusive immigration policies, it is much more difficult for President López Obrador to look away as Mexican officials continue to abuse migrants. “.

(With information from EFE)

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