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Chile, the third host country for Venezuelan migrants, has decided to limit their entry into the country since the end of June. The Chilean government has issued a decree prohibiting Venezuelans from arriving in Chile who have not previously obtained a visa from a consulate. Hundreds of Venezuelans remain stranded on the border with Peru or Bolivia.
With our correspondent in Santiago , Justine Fontaine
Since the publication of the decree, nearly a thousand Venezuelans live in tents in the streets of the Peruvian city of Tacna, waiting for a visa for nearby Chile. A few days ago, a Venezuelan miscarried while waiting for hours to enter the consulate.
Pablo Valenzuela is a researcher at the Espacio Público Foundation . He considers the migration policy of the Chilean government, which has been in power for a year and a half, incoherent: " People fleeing the humanitarian crisis in their country, a crisis that the Chilean president has rightly denounced with such force, finds now closed here ... This is not a migration policy, it is a series of actions whose purpose is above all communication, and by which the government seeks electoral support at the expense of the rights of migrants. "
" For the sake of migrants "
From the Moneda Palace, the head of the Migration Office defends the government's policy, and points out that before the publication of this decree, nearly 400,000 Venezuelans settled in Chile in the space of 5 years.
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Alvaro Bellolio points out that most have come as tourists before applying for a resident visa: " When we leave people as tourists knowing that they actually want to settle in the country, even if this wish is legitimate, it is much more difficult for them to fit in than if they entered directly with a residence permit ... That is why we introduce this type of measure, for the sake of migrants . "
Images of Venezuelans forced to wait on Chile's borders in precarious conditions are still worrying Guarequena Gutierrez, who represents Juan Guaido, self-proclaimed interim president of Venezuela in January, and recognized by the Chilean government.
She goes out of a meeting with the Secretary of State for the Interior, to request an expedited processing of applications for family reunion: " how not to be worried about the people who sleep on the street in front of the consulate, while is winter here ? How not to be concerned about the respiratory problems of children, by people who suffer from chronic diseases and come to care in Chile ? By the children who come to join their parents? I would like it to go faster, but I thank the government for the efforts that have been made so far so that Venezuelans can enter Chile. "
Increase in illegal immigrants
The Government assures that since the end of June more than 2,000 visas have been granted to Venezuelans from Peru, mainly for reasons of family reunification. But these figures are extremely low compared to the months preceding the publication of the decree.
In front of the Migration Office, in a popular district of Santiago , street vendors offer Chilean, Peruvian and Venezuelan specialties.
Reinaldo Morales, cap wearing Venezuela colors on his head, has come to regularize his migratory situation. He regretted the measures taken by the Chilean government, which followed those of other South American governments: " The most problematic is that people who had already started their journey are stuck on the way because of these measures. This is the case of my wife's mother, she is stuck in Colombia waiting to complete her visa process. "
Since Chile restricted the entry of Venezuelans on its territory in late June, the number of people who enter the country illegally is rising sharply, according to associations and authorities of border regions.
Near the migration office, off the microphone, a Venezuelan woman tells us that her mother and daughter crossed the border from Bolivia to join her in Chile a few days ago.