Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador during his daily morning press conference on September 27, 2023. Photo: Mexico's Presidential Office.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador blamed the United States’ sanctions and blockade policy against Cuba and Venezuela as the cause of increased regional migration. During his daily press conference on Monday, October 2, López Obrador directly linked US imperialist foreign policy in Latin America to the 10,000 daily arrivals of migrants at the US-Mexico border.
This issue came up when referring to a car accident where Cuban immigrants died in the southern state of Chiapas.
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“That is why we are going to continue insisting on addressing the root causes of migration, the origins, to go deeper, stop politicizing… rights are above ideology, sanctions [blockades] cannot be maintained, and the poorest countries must be helped,” he said.
Since unilateral US sanctions were intensified in 2019, Venezuelan migration has increased for economic reasons. According to a report by the NGO Sures, between 2018 and 2019, migration increased by 150%, while between 2021 and 2022, it was barely 10%. This indicates that the slight recovery and the pandemic constituted a brake on the outflow of Venezuelans to other countries.
In the specific case of those who migrate to the United States, the report states that the number of Venezuelans there has increased since 2020, and the arrival of migrants to the US remains high.
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Last year, the Panamanian government reported that during January and February, Venezuelans were those most frequently crossing the Darién Gap, with a total of 2,497 people daily, well above Haitians, Cubans, and people from African countries.
Last week, Mexican President López Obrador reported that Mexico would hold a meeting with authorities from 10 Latin American and Caribbean countries to review the challenges faced by the migration phenomenon.
During his September 27 morning press conference at the National Palace, López Obrador said that the meeting is expected to take place in the coming days, with the participation of foreign ministers from countries such as Honduras, Ecuador, Cuba, Venezuela, and Colombia.
(Misión Verdad) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SF
