TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th April, 2019) The South Korean government will give humanitarian aid worth $3 million to crisis-hit Venezuela, as well as Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, all three of which have been facing rising numbers of Venezuelan migrant arrivals, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
"The government decided to provide $3 million Dollars in humanitarian aid to Venezuela, which is suffering from unprecedented economic difficulties, as well as to Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, which have accepted a great number of Venezuelan refuges," the ministry said.
Seoul plans to offer Venezuela $1 million for medical supplies and food. The remaining $2 million is supposed to help Colombia, Ecuador and Peru house Venezuelan refugees.
According to the UN International Organization for Migration, there are currently 3.4 million Venezuelan refugees worldwide. Ecuador, Peru, Chile, the United States, Panama, Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Brazil and Costa Rica remain the main destinations for Venezuelan migrants. Colombia tops the list with over one million refugees, followed by Peru with over 500,000 people, and Ecuador and Chile with over 200,000 people in each.
The out-migration rates in Venezuela rose dramatically between 2017 and 2018, according to the UN Refugee and Migrant Response Plan. The document says that over 5,000 Venezuelans are leaving their country every day, and, if the current trend continues, the number of Venezuelan refugees is expected to reach 5.3 million people by the end of 2019.
The Venezuelan migration crisis has been ongoing for months against the backdrop of an acute economic crisis and political turmoil. The situation in Venezuela escalated in January when Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido illegally proclaimed himself interim president, contesting last year's re-election of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Guaido has received support from the United States and a number of other countries. China, Cuba, Russia and and other states have endorsed Maduro as Venezuela's only legitimate president.
