Venezuela crisis: 5 things you need to know about Maduro, Guaidó and mass exodus

By Brandon Showalter, Opinion writer and social commentator Saturday, March 16, 2019

3. Millions are fleeing Venezuela 

As a result of the chaos desperate Venezuelans have fled to neighboring countries, especially Peru and Colombia.

In a recent interview with CP, Vernon Brewer, founder of World Help, whose volunteers are on the ground in Venezuela distributing food and medical supplies to families in need, spoke about a family that was forced to flee the country after being  held at gunpoint in their home. 

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"We heard one story where some thieves broke into a woman’s house while she was home alone with her young daughter," Brewer said. "The thieves screamed at her to give them all the money she had. And she told them she had nothing to give them. Her small weekly paycheck wasn’t even enough to feed her and her child. The men eventually left, but Maria’s family was so traumatized and they were so fearful that this would keep happening that they fled the country into Peru.

"Maria says she understands why they did it," he added, "because of the desperation that they feel. But those are the same desperations that everyone in Venezuela is feeling right now."

The U.N.'s refugee and migration agencies both issued warnings last month that the crisis in the South American nation presents a massive humanitarian challenge. The number of refugees has risen to approximately 3.4 million, around 10 percent of the country's population.

"Colombia hosts the highest number of Venezuelan refugees and migrants, with over 1.1 million. It is followed by Peru, with 506,000, Chile 288,000, Ecuador 221,000, Argentina 130,000, and Brazil 96,000. Mexico and other countries in Central America and the Caribbean are also hosting significant numbers of refugees and migrants from Venezuela," U.N. News reported in late February.

"To date, Latin American countries have granted about 1.3 million residence permits and other forms of regular status to Venezuelans. Asylum systems have also been reinforced in order to process an unprecedented number of applications. Since 2014, over 390,000 asylum claims have been lodged by Venezuelans — close to 60 percent (232,000) happened in 2018 alone."