Peru will raise border control to prevent illegal entry of Venezuelans
Peru will raise the border guard to prevent illegal immigration after stricter admission requirements dramatically slowed the entry of Venezuelan citizens, Foreign Minister Nestor Popolizio said Monday.
Migrants gathered outside the binational border services center (CEBAF) in Peru. / Via REUTERS
Reuters | Marco Aquino
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Leer en español: Perú elevará control en fronteras para evitar ingreso ilegal de venezolanos
The Government of President Martín Vizcarra established on June 15 the requirement of the passport with a visa or humanitarian visa for Venezuelans, after an increase in Venezuelan entries, with about 866,000 in the country, according to figures from the local office demigrations.
Last week, Ecuador announced that Venezuelans will also need an entry visa to their territory, adding to the restrictions imposed by Peru and Chile.
"In the Peruvian case, the entry of Venezuelan migration to our country has declined dramatically and today (the income) is less than 90% of those in June," Foreign Minister Popolizio told reporters, upon leaving Congress in Lima.
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The foreign minister admitted, however, that although the number of income could be reduced further, measures are required to prevent illegal Venezuelans from entering Peru.
"We are in a very direct coordination, not only with the superintendence of migrations but also with the Ministry of Interior and the police so that there is greater protection throughout our border and avoid illegal income," he said, without mentioning details of the measures.
South America had been praised for keeping its borders open to Venezuelan migrants. The UN estimates that some 4.3 million Venezuelans have fled from an economic and humanitarian crisis, especially to Colombia – where there are 1.2 million – Peru, Chile, and Ecuador.
