Brazil sends in troops as Venezuelans flood border
BRAZIL said it was sending armed forces to keep order near the Venezuelan border area as a regional crisis sparked by thousands of Venezuelans fleeing economic collapse escalated.
In Brazil, where residents rioted and attacked Venezuelan immigrants in a border town earlier this month, President Michel Temer signed a decree to deploy the armed forces to the border state of Roraima. He said the move was aimed at keeping order and ensuring the safety of immigrants.
The exodus of Venezuelans to other South American countries is building toward a “crisis moment” comparable to events involving refugees in the Mediterranean, the United Nations said this week.
Peru had earlier this week declared a 60-day health emergency in two provinces on its northern border, citing “imminent danger” to health and sanitation.
The decree, published in the government’s official gazette, did not give more details on the risks, but health authorities have previously expressed concerns about the spread of diseases such as measles and malaria from migrants.
Mr Temer blamed the socialist Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro for the migration crisis.
“The problem of Venezuela is no longer one of internal politics. It is a threat to the harmony of the whole continent,” Mr Temer said in a televised address.
Top immigration officials from Peru, Colombia and Brazil met in Colombian capital Bogota for a summit to discuss how to cope with the influx.
There are close to one million Venezuelans now living in Colombia and more than 400,000 in Peru, the countries said in a joint statement after the meeting. Just 178,000 of those in Peru have legal permission to stay or are being processed.
In an attempt to track arrivals and distribute aid, Colombia and Peru said they would share information in a database.
Repatriation
Mr Maduro has warned migrants they face difficult conditions abroad and invited them to return home.
On Tuesday, Venezuela said it had repatriated 89 citizens who had migrated to Peru but sought to return after suffering “cruel treatment”.
“They listened to the siren call from abroad... and all they found in Lima was racism, disdain, and persecution,” Mr Maduro told a news conference.
He said Venezuelans should stop leaving the country to clean toilets and return to the “country of opportunity”.
Oscar Perez, an activist who works with Venezuelan migrants in Peru, said the repatriation was a publicity stunt by the Venezuelan government.