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Venezuelan Emigration, Explained

Venezuelan Emigration, Explained
Venezuelan Emigration, Explained

The massive outflow of Venezuelan citizens to other countries of Latin America and the Caribbean continues unabated, fueled by Venezuela’s economic collapse and repression of political dissent.  According to the United Nations, 2.3 million people—or 7 percent of Venezuela’s population—have fled the country, with more than 1.6 million having left since 2015.  The vast majority have gone to neighboring Colombia, straining the government’s ability to provide food, shelter, and medical care, but significant numbers have also entered Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and Argentina.

Helping the region respond to the crisis of Venezuelan emigration is an urgent task for the international community.  This background memo provides basic information on the crisis, the scope of the needs, and the nature of the regional response thus far.

About the Author

Sam Alhadeff

Sam Alhadeff

Political Economy Intern, Latin American Program
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Latin America Program

The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action.  Read more