Is South America closing door on Venezuelans?

Tens of thousands of Venezuelans fleeing turmoil at home face perilous new journeys and risk falling into the hands of criminal gangs after three South American countries clamped down on the mass exodus, the United Nations and experts say. Venezuela’s economic collapse has unleashed the biggest migratory crisis in recent Latin American history, forcing about one in 10 Venezuelans to leave since 2015. Another 500,000 are expected to flee over the next six months, bringing the total to 5 million, the UN estimates.

Now their journey to a new life looks fraught with a raft of new dangers: borders stacked with people smugglers, mountain and jungle terrain, plus exploitation by criminal gangs. To avoid border checks, migrants will likely resort to using hidden footpaths, known as trochas, to escape their homeland.

“The irregular crossings are much more dangerous because of the geography and the landscape and the groups that control them,” said Jessica Bolter, associate policy analyst at The Migration Policy Institute, a Washington-based think-tank.

South America has so far won praise for keeping internal borders largely open to Venezuelan migrants and refugees, about 3 million of whom have settled regionwide. Yet there are signs the solidarity is waning.

New entry restrictions in Chile, Peru and, most recently, Ecuador have raised fears the open-door policy is ending.

“There definitely has been a move among these countries towards closing off some pathways for Venezuelans,” said Bolter. “These countries really weren’t

prepared,” she said. “It certainly has overwhelmed some of the systems.”

The restrictions — imposed by Peru and Chile in June, and by Ecuador in July — could push migrants onto harsh, risky terrain. “People who are trying to walk across the bush are putting themselves in danger,” said William Spindler, Latin America spokesman for the UN’S refugee agency (UNHCR).

Criminal groups — common on the Colombia-ecuador border and on Colombia’s frontier with Venezuela — target undocumented migrants for labour and sexual exploitation.

“Some of these are criminal networks and armed groups that we know often prey on refugees and migrants,” Spindler said. “You have also smugglers who operate in these areas. So you are forcing people to go into the hands of smugglers.”

Along Colombia’s northern border with Venezuela, crime gangs charge migrants to cross clandestine paths and avoid officials.

“The more controls that are introduced, the greater the profit margins for migrantsmuggling groups and also greater are the opportunities of criminal groups,” said Ivan Briscoe, programme director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International Crisis Group, a think-tank.

In Ecuador, a decree introduced in July requires a visa for Venezuelans, who had previously only needed identity papers. Chile and Peru now require Venezuelans to have a passport and visa — documents many do not have or cannot afford. Venezuelans seeking asylum, however, still can do so without a passport, under international law.

Peru’s President Martin Vizcarra has defended the move, saying while the country has “opened its arms” to more than 800,000 Venezuelans, visas would ensure more control. On the contrary, said Bolter.

“While some of these governments have kind of justified these measures as ways to create a more safe and orderly migration flow, it’s really just going to do the opposite.

“These flows aren’t stopping, and people are still going to be trying to get into these countries. They are just going to have to put themselves in more danger,” she said.

The catalyst for the clampdown is clear — xenophobia is on the rise, experts say, stoking tensions. Isolated attacks and hate speech against Venezuelans have been reported in Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Brazil.

In Ecuador, a decree introduced in July requires a visa for Venezuelans, who had previously only needed identity papers. Chile and Peru now require Venezuelans to have a passport and visa. Venezuelans seeking asylum, however, still can do so without a passport, under international law