The Impact Of Venezuela Emigration On Colombia

The current emigration from Venezuela to Colombia is ironic based on the last 4-5 decades of migration in the opposite direction. For three decades since the 1970s Colombians have immigrated to Venezuela to escape their war-torn country that continued to wage on against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Over 77% of the Venezuelan immigrants were from Colombia in the 90s alone. After decades of migration from west to east the flow of has changed direction back to the west. With that change, there has been some conflict. There are two things that contribute to the situation. The two countries already have an established distrust and Colombia is not capable of managing the humanitarian aid by themselves. In 2009 while Chavez was still president, he was concerned with the increased presence of the US in Colombia. His neighbor had approved the US to operate both aircraft as well as navy ships out of four Colombian bases with “full access and operational rights”. Chavez’ reaction was to double the military presence along their common border. Chavez didn’t view Colombia as a threat, but he was paranoid about the potential for the US to use the Colombian forward operating bases as a staging area to invade Venezuela and oust him from his position. The other South American base that the US had a basing relationship with was coming to the end of its 10-year contract. Chavez “accused Colombia of becoming the 'Israel of Latin America' after agreeing to host US military operations.”

The common border between Venezuela and Colombia has always been an issue that has led to political escalation. Both countries claim ownership of the mountainous region in between the two countries. “These disputes fuel the claims, accusations and the movement of troops on both sides. Latent tension along the border and a mistrust of the real intentions of “the other” are creating a serious roadblock to reconciliatory efforts.” The tensions have historically grown to the point of potential war between them, with diplomacy finally ensuring a peaceful outcome overall. Aside from the just the typical border tension that both countries had grown accustomed to, the influx of immigrants brought new problems. As the financial crisis as continued to progress, Colombia has provided some assistance, even allowing for Venezuelans to obtain a “special work permit” that was limited in scope but assisted none-the-less. It gave them permission to cross the border and work for up to 7-days at a time. The expectation was that they would work in Colombia but return to Venezuela to live. From the point of view of some Colombians, the Venezuelans began to abuse the privilege. “Facing severe food and medical shortages at home, most have stocked up on supplies, or visited hospitals, before returning across the border.” Some Colombian officials believe that the visa was a enticement to the impoverished Venezuelans to leave their poverty stricken life and find opportunities in their neighboring country. According to some reports, there were surges of immigrants, entering Colombia, of up to “90,000 people a day”. It grew to the point where the Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, “suspended the issuing of new temporary visas and declared a massive militarization of the border.” The Colombian locals argue that while they could help “10 or 20 Venezuelans but you can't help ... 10,000.” It’s not an issue with not wanting to support the humanitarian cause, more so than it is difficult to help so many people.

The Colombian government has requested that the US and UN aid with humanitarian aid. In the end the US agreed to provide help by way of a “hospital ship” that could provide some needed medical care for the Venezuelan refugees. Although Colombia has provided some assistance, “regulations and policies imposed by the Colombian government have made it difficult for Venezuelans to access much needed humanitarian aid.” Colombia is not the only Latin America country to be affected by the migration.