The Venezuelan migration crisis is currently the second-largest in the world, with 5.4 million Venezuelans abroad. And also the largest one in the history of the Western Hemisphere. The figure equals 18% of the migrant population in the world.
Venezuela doubles the refugees from Afghanistan and South Sudan, while the migration from Myanmar five times. It should be noted that these countries have been through armed conflicts.
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“Venezuelans do not emigrate because they want to, if because they flee,” assured David Smolansky, the OAS commissioner for the Venezuelan exodus, in an online forum organized by El Pitazo in 2020.
Smolansky assured that his team gets dedicated to making visible the causes of forced migration, focusing on the recording of testimony of Venezuelans who have fled the country due to human rights violations, complex humanitarian emergencies, and crimes against humanity. They also work to articulate with the governments to implement policies that integrate and protect the millions of Venezuelan migrants.
“Venezuelans will stop fleeing the country when it is free when there is justice and when there is security,” Smolansky said.
The United Nations and the OAS expect the exodus to accelerate in 2021 unless a significant political change occurs in Venezuela. According to the UN, some eight million Venezuelans will leave the country by the end of the next year.
