“Some 5,000 people are now leaving Venezuela daily – the largest population movement in Latin America’s recent history,” UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi told the organization’s executive committee on Monday.
“A non-political and humanitarian approach is essential to help states receiving them in growing numbers,” he added. UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler told AFP that 1.9 million people had left Venezuela since 2015, an increase on a previous count of 1.6 million.
Colombia’s president, Ivan Duque, said on Friday that the influx of more than a million Venezuelans into his country was costing about 0.5 per cent of GDP. Duque said Colombia would continue its “open arms” policy but added that the economic and social costs on his country had to be evaluated.
