Since the start of the “Vuelta a la Patria”(Return to the Homeland) Plan up to date, a total of 9,900 Venezuelans have voluntarily returned to the country; more than 31% have done it by air and the rest by land, mostly from Brazil.
The data was provided by the Deputy Minister of International Communication of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, William Castillo, during the “Diplomacia Bolivariana” (Bolivarian Diplomacy) program, which is broadcast by RNV’s Informative channel.
For the repatriation of this group of Venezuelans, 31 flights have been made: “12 from Peru, 12 from Ecuador, 2 from Argentina, 2 from the Dominican Republic, 2 from Colombia and one from Chile”, for which “An extraordinary economic and logistical effort has been required”, as he detailed.
Castillo insisted on pointing out that “Venezuela is giving an answer on the issue of migration”, referring also to recent measures taken to strengthen the social protection network in the border states, whose population has been seriously impacted by the action of the criminal gangs and food trafficking to Colombia.
He also spoke about the creation of the Migration Police and the efforts that are being made to update all legislation and migration regulations, in order to establish better control mechanisms at the border.
He again called on the authorities of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, to deliver all the information concerning the entry of Venezuelan citizens: “to find that million one hundred thousand that Colombia claims to have; those 600 thousand that Peru says, or those 300 thousand that Ecuador says to have”, as part of the “mercantile and political operation” undertaken by these governments to blackmail the international opinion.
