Four million Venezuelans have fled country to escape economic and humanitarian crisis, UN says </s> GENEVA (Reuters) - Four million Venezuelan refugees and migrants have fled an economic and political crisis in their homeland, all but 700,000 of them since the end of 2015, U.N. aid agencies said on Friday.

The “alarming” figure highlights the urgent need to support host countries, mainly in Latin America - led by Colombia, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Brazil and Argentina - the U.N. refugee agency and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a joint statement issued in Geneva. </s> Four million Venezuelan refugees and migrants have fled economic and humanitarian crisis in their homeland, all but 700,000 of them since the end of 2015, UN aid agencies said on Friday.

The Opec member's imploding economy has brought widespread shortages of basic foods and medicines, while political hostilities have led to waves of fatal violence.

The crisis has deepened since the US imposed sanctions, including on the pivotal oil industry, in an effort to oust leftist President Nicolas Maduro in favour of opposition leader Juan Guaido.

"The pace of the outflow from Venezuela has been staggering," the UN refugee agency UNHCR and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said in a joint statement.

The previous UN count was 3.7 million and the "alarming" new figure highlights the urgent need to support host countries, mainly in Latin America - led by Colombia with 1.3 million and followed by Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Brazil and Argentina, it said.

Peru's president on Thursday vowed to continue deporting Venezuelans with criminal records as long as necessary, part of a toughening stance toward the migrants.

About the UN Children's Fund (Unicef) said in a separate statement on Friday. </s> An estimated 3.3 million people have fled the crisis in Venezuela since the start of 2016, including one million who have left the country since November, the United Nations said Friday.

"The pace of the outflow from Venezuela has been staggering," the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a joint statement.

Economically-devastated Venezuela is suffering from shortages of food, medicine and other essentials amid a power struggle between President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has been recognised as interim president by more than 50 countries including the United States.

American actress and UNHCR goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie will travel this weekend to a Colombian region on the Venezuela border "to assess the humanitarian response to exodus," the agency said.

Colombia is hosting about 1.3 million people displaced from Venezuela, the most of any country, followed by Peru, Chile and Ecuador.

The joint UNHCR-IOM envoy for the crisis, Guatemala's former vice president Eduardo Stein, said there is "an urgent need to support host communities" in the countries receiving displaced Venezuelans. </s> Image copyright Reuters Image caption Latin American countries host the vast majority of Venezuelan migrants and refugees

More than four million Venezuelans have fled their country amid an economic and humanitarian crisis, UN agencies say.

The pace of people fleeing has "skyrocketed" since the end of 2015, with around one million leaving in the last seven months alone, they found.

The agencies said countries hosting the migrants and refugees were in "urgent need" of international support.

Venezuela's imploding economy has meant shortages of basic supplies, such as food and medicines, in recent years.

The crisis has deepened this year amid a bitter power struggle between the government and opposition.

The exodus means Venezuelans are now "one of the single largest population groups displaced from their country", the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a joint statement on Friday.

The agencies said they calculated the four million figure using data from national immigration authorities and other sources.

They did not give an exact date for when the calculation began, but said some 3.3 million people had fled since the end of 2015.

A UNHCR spokesperson told the BBC that the real figure may be even higher due to the use of unofficial border crossings.

The agencies called for support to be given to countries hosting the Venezuelans.

"Latin American and Caribbean countries are doing their part to respond to this unprecedented crisis but they cannot be expected to continue doing it without international help," said Eduardo Stein, joint UNHCR-IOM special representative for Venezuelan refugees and migrants.

Latin American countries host the vast majority of Venezuelan migrants and refugees. According to UN figures, Colombia hosts the most at 1.3 million, followed by Peru with 768,000.

Countries in Central America and the Caribbean also host significant numbers of Venezuelans.

What's the situation on the ground in Venezuela?

Under the government of Nicolás Maduro, the economy has collapsed and shortages of food and medicines have become widespread.

In parts of the oil-rich country, fuel has become scarce and drivers queue for days at petrol stations. There are also frequent blackouts.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption What are the real reasons behind Venezuela’s blackouts?

The government says the shortages are caused by US sanctions. The opposition argues that they are the result of mismanagement and corruption by consecutive socialist governments.

Who is in charge?

Venezuela is engulfed in a political crisis with two rival politicians - Mr Maduro and National Assembly leader Juan Guaidó - claiming to be the country's legitimate leader.

Mr Guaidó declared himself interim president in January, arguing that Mr Maduro's re-election last year had been "illegitimate".

He has since been recognised by more than 50 countries, including Canada, the US and most in Latin America. But Mr Maduro retains the loyalty of most of the military and important allies such as China and Russia.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Venezuela crisis: The four countries interested in the presidential battle

On 30 April, Mr Guaidó led a failed attempt to spark a military rebellion against Mr Maduro, which the latter said was part of a US-orchestrated coup.

Since then, close allies of Mr Guaidó have been arrested. While his parliamentary immunity has been lifted, he has so far not been jailed.

Representatives of the two sides have been holding talks in Norway but they ended without agreement last week. </s> Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Many Venezuelans have fled the crisis-hit country to the island of Curaçao (file photo)

Thirty-two Venezuelan migrants are missing after the boat they were travelling on sank on its way to the island of Curaçao, a politician said.

The group left a village in the north-western Falcón state on a speedboat on Friday. Relatives said they had not heard from the group since.

It was the third Venezuelan migrant boat to capsize in recent weeks.

Some four million people have fled Venezuela since 2015, according to the United Nations.

A severe years-long economic crisis has resulted in high unemployment and shortages of food and medicine, and hundreds of thousands of people are said to be in need of humanitarian aid in the oil-rich country.

"No-one has been in touch with their families, which makes us fear the worst," said opposition politician Luis Stefanelli, who accused the government of "criminal negligence" for not deploying teams to search for the missing.

Venezuelan authorities have not yet commented.

The Dutch island of Curaçao is about 40 miles (64km) off the Venezuelan coast. Mr Stefanelli said each person had paid $400 (£313) for the crossing in a country where the monthly minimum wage is around $6.70.

Two other boats carrying migrants sank on separate journeys to Trinidad and Tobago in April and May, leaving more than 50 missing in total.

Last week, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the exodus from the country meant that Venezuelans were now "one of the single largest population groups displaced from their country".

Latin American countries host the vast majority of Venezuelan migrants and refugees. Colombia has the most at 1.3 million, followed by Peru with 768,000, according to UN figures.

But countries in Central America and the Caribbean also host significant numbers of Venezuelans.

The government of President Nicolás Maduro says the shortages are a result of a US-led "economic war". The opposition argues that they are the result of mismanagement and corruption by socialist governments.

The crisis deepened in January after Juan Guaidó, the head of the National Assembly, declared himself interim president, arguing that Mr Maduro's re-election last year had been "illegitimate".

He has since been recognised by more than 50 countries, including the US and most of Latin America. But Mr Maduro retains the loyalty of most of the military and important allies such as China and Russia.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption What are the real reasons behind Venezuela’s blackouts?

In April, Mr Guaidó led a failed attempt to spark a military rebellion against Mr Maduro, who described the effort as part of a US-orchestrated coup. Since then, close allies of Mr Guaidó have been arrested. While his parliamentary immunity has been lifted, he has so far not been jailed. </s> One million people have left Venezuela since November as the exodus from the crisis-hit South American country has continued to skyrocket, UN agencies said on Friday.

The latest increase has brought the total number of Venezuelan migrants and refugees abroad to 4 million, up from 695,000 in late 2015, when the opposition’s election victory set the stage for intensifying conflict with President Nicolas Maduro.

According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Colombia is the main destination, hosting 1.3 million Venezuelans, followed by Peru with 768,000.

Chile, Ecuador, Brazil and Argentina host hundreds of thousands, while Central American and Caribbean states have also taken in significant amounts of people from Venezuela.

“Latin American and Caribbean countries are doing their part to respond to this unprecedented crisis,’’ Eduardo Stein, the UN refugee and migration manager for Venezuela, said.

“But they cannot be expected to continue doing it without international help,’’ Stein said.

A crisis plan to help 2.2 million exiled Venezuelans as well as their host communities was launched late 2018.

So far, only 21 per cent of the needed 738 million dollars have been funded by donor countries.

Venezuela has experienced a massive economic and political crisis under Maduro, who won a second term in an election boycotted by most of the opposition a year ago.

The dire situation has pushed Venezuelans to leave the country amid hyperinflation and goods shortages. </s> Geneva: Developing countries, not rich Western nations, are bearing the brunt of the world's refugee crisis and are hosting most of the record 70.8 million displaced people who have fled war and persecution, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

The 2018 total is the highest in nearly 70 years and sadly, half of the world's forcibly displaced are children, the UN refugee agency said in its annual flagship report, Global Trends.

But the global figure, which comprises 25.9 million refugees, 41.3 million people uprooted within their homelands, and 3.5 million asylum-seekers, is "conservative", it said.

That is because it does not include most of the 4 million Venezuelans who have fled abroad since 2015 as they do not need visas or to lodge asylum claims to stay in most host countries. If the outflow continues, a total of 5 million Venezuelans could have left by year-end, it said. </s> LIMA, Peru — The number of Venezuelans fleeing the country is accelerating at a “staggering” rate, the United Nations reported Friday, as the South American nation is caught in a political struggle and grinding humanitarian crisis.

The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, said there are now more than 4 million Venezuelans living abroad — and that 1 million have left in the last seven months alone.

“The pace of the outflow from Venezuela has been staggering,” UNHCR said in a statement. “From some 695,000 at the end of 2015, the number of refugees and migrants from Venezuela had skyrocketed to over 4 million by mid-2019.”

Neighboring Colombia is now home to 1.3 million Venezuelans, followed by Peru with 768,000, Chile with 288,000, Ecuador with 263,000, Brazil with 168,000 and Argentina with 130,000. However, almost every country in the region is hosting “a significant number of Venezuelans,” UNHCR said.

Most countries have taken unprecedented steps to help the migrants, including allowing them to enter on expired passports and providing residency and work programs. But that might be changing.

Peru, which has had some of the most welcoming policies toward Venezuelan migrants, announced Thursday that it will begin requiring them to apply for visas at Peruvian embassies in Venezuela or Colombia.

The new requirement comes as dozens of Venezuelans have been expelled from Peru after committing crimes and as President Martin Vizcarra is facing pushback from those worried about what they see as uncontrolled immigration.

Colombia has also complained that the international community isn’t doing enough to help Venezuela’s neighbors handle the influx, which is taxing the region’s health, education and social security systems.

“These alarming figures highlight the urgent need to support host communities in the receiving countries,” said Eduardo Stein, the special representative for Venezuelan refugees and migrants for UNHCR and the International Organization on Migration. “Latin American and Caribbean countries are doing their part to respond to this unprecedented crisis, but they cannot be expected to continue doing it without international help.”

Venezuela has been trapped in an economic and humanitarian crisis for years amid falling oil production, hyperinflation, and widespread corruption and mismanagement. More recently, economic sanctions from Washington and elsewhere are thought to be exacerbating the crisis.

Leader Nicolas Maduro is fighting for his political survival against Juan Guaido, the head of congress whom the United States and more than 50 other countries consider Venezuela’s legitimate president.
The United Nations reports more than four million Venezuelans have fled their country during the economic and humanitarian crisis.