Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Yvan Gil giving a speech at the UN Human Rights Council. Photo: File photo.
This Wednesday, the government of Venezuela demanded that Chile “respect the human rights” of Venezuelan migrants who are being deported from the southern cone nation whose authorities announced a reinforcement of security measures to halt the irregular entry of people through clandestine means.
Through social media, Venezuela’s Minister of Foreign Relations, Yván Gil, wrote that there has been “a national outcry” for Chile “to demand respect for human rights,” and called for coordination between the governments of Chile and Venezuela.
Despite the fact that the Chilean government said that it is dealing with this issue with Bolivia and Venezuela, the executive of Nicolás Maduro “has not received a request for coordinated work with the government of Chile regarding alleged deportations,” said the foreign minister.
El Gobierno de Venezuela aún no ha recibido solicitud de trabajo coordinado con Gobierno de Chile respecto a supuestas deportaciones de venezolanos. La coordinación en esta materia ha sido un clamor nuestro, así como la exigencia de respeto a los DDHH de nuestros compatriotas https://t.co/cDYnC8Aq7B
— Yvan Gil (@yvangil) March 15, 2023
From the border town of Colchane, the epicenter of the unprecedented migration crisis that Chile is experiencing, Boric said that “intense diplomatic work must be carried out, both with Bolivia and with Venezuela, so that they receive citizens who are deported.”
The north of Chile has been plunged into an intense migratory crisis since 2021 after the arrival of people through clandestine crossings, which has resulted in the holding of xenophobic marches promoted by political interests of that nation.
Chile deployed the Armed Forces on February 27 at critical points on the border with Peru and Bolivia, an operation that will last 90 days and that has resulted in dozens of arrests.
There are 1.4 million migrants in Chile, equivalent to more than 7% of the population, with Venezuelans being the most numerous, followed by Peruvians, Haitians, and Colombians.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
