The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has warned that the number of Venezuelans fleeing the worsening economic crisis in their homeland could create a “refugee crisis moment” for South American countries similar to what occurred across Europe three years ago.
The warning by the United Nations (UN) agency comes as Peru today imposed new entry requirements aimed at controlling the influx of Venezuelan migrants.
As part of the new requirements, Venezuelans will no longer be allowed to cross the Peruvian border with just an identification card
Children, pregnant women and the elderly are exempted.
According to reports, approximately 400,000 Venezuelan migrants have entered Peru in the past twelve months.
Since 2014, it’s reported that more than two million Venezuelans have fled their homeland because of the worsening economic crisis, which has resulted in chronic shortages of food and medicine.
This mass migration has inflamed tensions across the region as neighbouring countries struggle to accommodate them.
Peruvian Prime Minister César Villanueva said requiring Venezuelans to show their passport at the border did not mean that his country was “closing the door” to migrants.
He said ID cards did not provide enough information and could easily be forged.
Similar rules were introduced in Ecuador last week, only to be overturned by a court.
The United Nations (UN) has established a special team to coordinate the regional response.
Joel Millman, a spokesman for the IOM, says increasing border restrictions, coupled with an outbreak of violence on the Brazilian border last week, is an early warning sign that the region was in need of help.
