Thousands Venezuelans Fled to Colombia to Escape Economic Crisis

Colombia says at least one million people have entered Colombia from Venezuela fleeing a severe economic crisis since President Nicolás Maduro’s government descended into crisis last year, a senior Red Cross official told AFP on Wednesday.
More than 45,000 migrants cross on foot from Venezuela to Cúcuta every day. The Colombian city has become the last hope for many fleeing Venezuela’s crumbling economy. Already four million people, out of a population of 30 million, have fled Venezuela due to chronic shortages of food and medicine.
“To date we know that approximately one million people have entered Colombia through official migration points, and we don’t know how many have entered Colombia through unofficial migration points,” he said in a phone interview in Geneva, specifying that this movement had occurred “since mid-2017”.
Officials say a million Venezuelans have registered for a migration card that allows them to come and go across the border to buy food and other products scarce in their own country.
While the group is diverse, with some only looking to work in Colombia for a short period before returning home, most are on the move because they cannot meet their basic needs in Venezuela, Capobianco explained.
Last week, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres stated the UN was willing to send more aid to Colombia to assist with the growing influx of migrants.
> Shiuly Rina