SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Migration from Venezuela is expected to grow in the coming months as more and more people flee that country due to instability with the Nicolás Maduro regime and unrest following the presidential elections.
An AP analysis of the vote shows Maduro lost by a wide margin and that opposition candidate Edmundo González won.
Still, Maduro has declared himself the winner, and it’s led to ongoing demonstrations and riots in Venezuela to protest Maduro’s refusal to give up power.
Maduro has also ordered security forces to stop what he calls “violent criminals,” and so far, more than 2,000 people have been arrested.
He has also blocked the use of social media platforms such as X, formally Twitter, as he tries to control the narrative.
Countries including the U.S., Argentina and Chile are calling for Maduro to step down, but China and Russia have called to congratulate him.
Mexico, Colombia and Brazil are asking Maduro to release actual voting results and to step down if he loses.
“The Venezuelan exodus is already very high,” said Enrique Lucero, head of Tijuana’s Migrant Affairs Office. “Let’s remember, this exodus began as Maduro took power more than 10 years ago, 8 million Venezuelans have already fled their country looking for protection in the United States.”
Lucero expects more to follow if conditions in Venezuela don’t improve.
“We have to see how the post-election crisis settles, if Maduro remains in power, we can expect a spike in migration out of Venezuela.”
According to Lucero, Venezuelan migrants are one of the largest groups of people already seeking asylum in the U.S.
“CBP One numbers show Venezuelans are the third-largest community of asylum seekers only behind Cubans and Mexicans, about 130 Venezuelans enter the U.S. from Tijuana daily.”
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