Mexico will require a visa from Venezuelans starting January 21 in an attempt to curb illegal migration to the United States, which has increased significantly in recent months.
The decision is part of an agreement of the Ministry of the Interior published on Thursday in the Official Gazette of the Federation and which will take effect in 15 days.
Explaining the reasons for the measure, the Mexican government indicated that a substantial increase in Venezuelans has been identified who are entering the country “for a purpose other than that allowed by the condition of a visitor’s stay without permission to carry out paid activities.”
“The growing trend of the migratory flow of nationals of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in irregular transit to a third country stands out, representing an increase of more than a thousand percent, compared to the same period in the previous five years,” says the document.
According to statistics from the Migration Policy Unit of the Ministry of the Interior, between January and November 160,379 Venezuelans entered through Mexican airports, a figure that is more than five times higher than the record for the same period of 2020, which was 29,789.
The Mexican authorities acknowledge that they have detected an increase in false statements about the reasons for travel, the diversification of transit routes, and some crimes associated with international mobility, such as human trafficking and migrant smuggling.
Amnesty International expressed concern in December about Mexico’s decision to require a visa from Venezuelans, and said in an open letter to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that the majority of Venezuelans fleeing their country “are refugees and have the right to protection. international”.
In recent years, more than six million people have left Venezuela, fleeing the complex social and economic crisis that is hitting the South American nation, according to United Nations figures.
The International Organization for Migration and the UN Refugee Agency launched last December a regional plan for $ 1.79 billion to support the growing needs of refugees and migrants from Venezuela, and host communities in 17 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.