After the coup d'état attempt in April 2002 and years of political tension following Chávez's rise to power, Venezuela experienced a spike in emigration. A May 2002 cable from the United States embassy in Caracas to United States agencies expressed astonishment at the number of Venezuelans attempting to enter the United States. By June of that year, many Venezuelans with family or links to other countries had emigrated; others, who had immigrated to Venezuela, began to leave due to economic and political instability.