Ecuador will promote humanitarian corridor for Venezuelans expelled from Peru

He Government of Ecuador announced this Thursday that it will raise Colombia to establish a “humanitarian corridor” so that Venezuelans who are expelled from Peru starting next Saturday can reach their country of origin.

The Ecuadorian Minister of the Interior, Juan Zapata, anticipated that he will propose this measure to the Minister of National Defense of Colombia, Iván Velásquez, during a bilateral meeting that they will hold within the framework of the ministerial meeting of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) that will take place out in Brasilia.

In statements released by the Ministry of the Interior of Ecuador, Zapata explained that foreigners who are in Peru have until November 10 to regularize their situation with a temporary residence permit, so those who do not complete the procedure may be expelled. .

The head of the Interior portfolio commented that the Peruvian Immigration Superintendency estimates that between 5,000 and 6,000 people will be expelled, the majority of Venezuelan nationality.

“The most appropriate roadmap that we are looking at is to create a humanitarian corridor so that from Peru, people who have not met this requirement can be transferred directly to Venezuela, but for that we also need to coordinate with the Colombian authorities.” , Zapata indicated.

“We depend on Colombia, but I believe that the same measure works for Colombia, because it will want foreigners to pass without staying in its territory. “It depends on the will of the three countries to establish these humanitarian corridors that allow us to precisely take them to their country of origin,” he added.

In this sense, he indicated that the Ministry of the Interior of Ecuador has requested the urgent creation of an inter-institutional committee to address this emergency in a joint and coordinated manner with other Government portfolios and international organizations and organizations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Refugees (UNHCR).

For the moment, the minister announced that attention will be reinforced at the two regular migratory crossings on the border between Ecuador and Peru, located in Huaquillas and Macará.

Zapata also stressed the need for the National Assembly (Parliament), which will be installed on November 20, to make an urgent reform of the Mobility Law, which he defined as “the most fragile in the region”as he regretted that they cannot request judicial records from those who enter the country with an identity card.

Ecuador is also currently immersed in a new regularization process for migrants who arrived in the country until June 3, 2022, which is expected to be accessed by more than 250,000 Venezuelans.

Of the more than 7.7 million Venezuelans who have emigrated from their country in recent years, just over 4.9 million are in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, according to the latest report from the Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants of Venezuela ( R4V).

In Colombia, 2.89 million Venezuelans are housed, in Peru there are 1.54 million and in Ecuador there are 475,000, after some 25,000 have left the country during the course of this year.

Ecuador’s concern about the possible expulsion of irregular foreigners in Peru comes a few days after Hernán David Landaeta was arrested in the southern border province of Loja. “Satan”required by the Colombian Justice and indicated by the authorities as a member of the “Aragua Train”the largest Venezuelan criminal gang.

Two months ago, Minister Zapata denied any sign of activity in Ecuador of the “Aragua Train” as apparently happens in its neighboring countries.