UN: Three million Venezuelans have fled their country

The number of Venezuelans who fled the country due to the political and economic crisis has reached three million. In Latin America, the country lacks a lot of food and medicine, and inflation has exceeded 800,000%. The UN calls Thursday for more help for neighboring countries hosting refugees.

The vast majority of refugees from Venezuela are cared for in the region. Colombia is home to more than one million refugees, followed by Peru with half a million, Ecuador with 220,000 people and Argentina with 130,000 refugees.

See also: The border town can no longer see a Venezuelan

"A non-infinite absorption capacity"

The United Nations Refugee Organization, UNHCR and the United Nations the International Organization for Migration (IOM) want the countries of Latin America an "open door policy" for refugees. At the same time, Edward Stein, within the UN, responsible for Venezuela's refugees, warns that "the absorption capacity of countries is not infinite". He believes the situation calls for a "stronger and immediate response from the international community". The UN says it needs an amount of 220 million dollars for the receipt (195 million euros).

In Ecuador and Peru, stricter border controls have been put in place, which means that only Venezuelans are admitted with a passport and no longer with an identity card. In August, a violent eruption against Venezuelan refugees took place in the Brazilian border town of Pacaraima. The inhabitants of the village defeated the refugees' tents, after which more than a thousand Venezuelans fled to their own country.

On 22 and 23 November, Latin American governments met in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito, to discuss the refugee crisis.