A group of Venezuelan migrants, around 50 people including children, arrived in recent days in the United States after crossing the Rio Bravo, according to a video captured by the US news channel Fox News, which has been replicated by other international media and agencies.
The migrants lifted the children above the current, which at times was knee-deep for the adults, detailed the U.S. media outlet. When the river is low, in the morning hours, smugglers begin to send groups across the Rio Grande, reports Fox News.
On March 8, President Joe Biden’s administration announced that the Venezuelan population in the United States will be able to benefit from Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a measure that could benefit 380,000 Venezuelans who have been in U.S. territory since March 8.
Thus, Venezuela entered a list of countries designated by the White House for the benefit of TPS, together with El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen.
In the audiovisual released by Fox News, a group of people, including children, claiming to be from Venezuela are shown arriving -mostly with a load of luggage- to U.S. territory.
Executive Order
President Joe Biden’s Administration announced the TPS benefit for Venezuelan migrants shortly after the White House renewed the validity of the Executive Order signed by former President Barack Obama in 2015, according to which the situation in Venezuela constitutes “an unusual and extraordinary threat” to the national security of the United States.
Based on that presidential decree, the US government, both Obama’s and that of his successor Donald Trump, imposed a series of economic and financial sanctions on Venezuela, which have been denounced by the Venezuelan authorities as unilateral coercive measures in different international forums.
The Venezuelan government maintains that the economic and financial restrictions imposed on the country have been the structural cause of the atypical migratory movement of Venezuelan nationals, which has been reflected in various countries of the continent, especially in Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.
Consequence of sanctions
The UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, Alena Douhan, denounced last February, at the conclusion of a visit to Venezuela, the “devastating effect” of these measures on the Venezuelan population.
In her preliminary report, the UN expert observed that the sanctions have exacerbated the Venezuelan economic situation, and their application would have limited the country’s income by 99%. Among other consequences, this situation has led to an increase in the number of Venezuelan migrants.
Some international organizations and governments in the region suggest a migration of more than 5 million Venezuelans in recent years; however, in the absence of official figures and rigorous registration in the host countries, the real number of this population on the move is unknown.
The arrival of Venezuelan nationals to the United States has captured the attention of the international press, on the eve of the so-called “Conference of Solidarity with Venezuelan Refugees”, to be hosted by Canada on June 17.