US grants protection to Venezuelan refugees who fled Maduro's regime

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 22, 2021 © AP - Matias Delacroix

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2 min

Since the 2018 elections, considered fraudulent by Washington, and the accession to power of Nicolás Maduro, nearly 320,000 Venezuelans have found refuge in the United States, in South Florida in particular.

But the Trump administration has never regularized their status.

As of today, they can claim temporary protection for eighteen months. 

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With our correspondent in New York,

Carrie Nooten

It was a campaign pledge from candidate Joe Biden.

The president did it.

All Venezuelan refugees who fled the Nicolás Maduro regime will be able to benefit from temporary protection status in the United States.

For this, they will need to have been present on American soil before March 8 and have a clean criminal record.

And this status will allow them to work and no longer risk deportation at any time for eighteen months.

This measure could affect up to 320,000 refugees.

One-sided pressure on Maduro is no longer enough

Politically, the Biden administration does not recognize the legitimacy of Nicolás Maduro, and sees the opponent Juan Guaidó as interim president of Venezuela, 

just like the Trump administration.

But the Democrats criticized the latter for having done nothing for the fate of the refugees until then. 

On the other hand, if it is in theory on the same line with regard to the sanctions imposed on Caracas, and in particular on its oil, the Biden administration believes that this unilateral pressure is no longer enough, suggesting that it could quickly mobilize allies to its strategy. 

► To read also: Venezuela: new pass of arms between the United States and Caracas

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  • United States

  • Venezuela

  • Refugees

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