BFF-05 Over one million migrate from Venezuela to Colombia in 16 months

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BFF-05

VENEZUELA-MIGRATION

Over one million migrate from Venezuela to Colombia in 16 months

BOGOTA, June 14, 2018 (BSS/AFP) -More than one million people have migrated from crisis-hit Venezuela to neighboring Colombia during the past 16 months, according to figures released by Bogota on Wednesday.

Authorities have determined that 442,462 have residence permits while 376,572 do not — a total of 819,034 Venezuelans.

“To this figure, we must add 250,000 Colombians who have returned. So more than a million people have entered the country from Venezuela in the last 16 months,” according to a statement from the agency charged with registering these migrants.

Bogota and the border regions receive most of the flow of migrants — the largest in Colombia’s history — from Venezuela, where hyperinflation has crippled the country, leading to shortages of food and medicine.

BSS/AFP/AU/07:25 hrs