The Caracas Exodus

More and more Venezuelans are seeking asylum abroad, with nearly a quarter of a million applications lodged in 2018 alone, double that of the previous year, the U.N. refugee agency said on Friday.

In all, 414,570 asylum claims have been filed by Venezuelan nationals abroad since 2014, UNHCR said. Nearly 60 percent, or 248,669, were filed during 2018, following 110,825 in 2017. The total outflow of Venezuelans is estimated at more than 3.4 million, up from 3.3 million in December, UNHCR said.

UNHCR says people fleeing conflict or persecution are entitled to protection under international law. Two-thirds of claims by Venezuelan asylum-seekers were registered in Latin America, with the rest in North America and some European countries.

The top five countries receiving asylum applications from 2014-2018 were: Peru (167,238), Brazil (83,893), the United States (72,722), Spain (29,603) and Ecuador (13,535).
http://news.trust.org/item/20190308151941-nw144/