Dominican Republic will participate in meeting in Quito to establish solutions to Venezuelan migration
The Caribbean nation is one of the countries that has already confirmed its participation in the meeting that will take place today in the Ecuadorian capital, to address the serious migratory situation currently experienced by Venezuelan citizens, which has had a large impact on Latin American countries.
Other countries that have confirmed their attendance are Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and, of course the host, Ecuador.
In the Dominican Republic, the massive migration of Venezuelans fleeing the crisis in their country placed them as the second largest group of immigrants, second only to Haitians.
The number of Venezuelans who settled in the Dominican Republic increased almost 650% during the last five years, going from about 3,500 in 2012 to about 22,500 at the end of 2017.
So far in 2018 have entered Ecuador 641,353 Venezuelans fleeing the crisis, of which the vast majority, more than half a million, have left the country in search of more promising destinations such as Peru or Chile.
The influx of Venezuelans increased at the beginning of the second semester of the year, at a rate of 4,200 daily, which led the Ecuadorian Government to declare a state of emergency in the migration sector in the provinces bordering Peru and Colombia, and to demand passport (measure now annulled by court order) to any of them who would like to cross into their territory.
To reduce the massive influx on the northern border, Ecuador activated “humanitarian corridors” that have transferred more than 1,200 Venezuelan citizens, under vulnerable conditions, from the northern border to the southern border with Peru free of charge.
