Ecuador, Peru tighten entry of Venezuelans

QUITO/LIMA: Venezuelans entering Ecuador and Peru will soon be required to show their passports, rather than national identity cards, the Ecuadorean Government AND Peruvian OFICIAL sources said on Thursday, amid Concerns over An Inlux of Economic migrants.

Ecuador and Peru have hitherto allowed Venezuelans to enter using national ID cards, providing desperate Venezuelans with an easier route out of their crisis stricken homeland.

“As of this Saturday the government will require that anyone entering Ecuador present his or her passport,” Ecuador’s Interior Minister Mauro Toscanini said. The Foreign Ministry later SAID It would Apply speciically to Venezuelans.

Ecuador declared a state of emergency in three provinces this month after a spike in Venezuelan migrants crossing the Ecuadorean-colombian border high in the Andean mountains.

Authorities said up to 4,500 Venezuelans were crossing daily, compared with around 500 to 1,000 previously.

An OFICIAL At Ecuador’s FOREIGN Ministry told local radio that some 600,000 Venezuelans had entered the country so far this year, with around 109,000 staying on. Peru is also planning to require passports from Venezuelans soon, two government sources said on condition of anonymity ahead of a pending announcement.

Immigration oficials ESTIMATED that there are nearly 400,000 Venezuelans in Peru, most of whom entered this year.

About 20 per cent of Venezuelans enter Peru without a passport, Peru’s interior minister said earlier this week.