Through an official communiqué, Venezuelan Chancellor Yván Gil “categorically” rejects the report published by UNHCR with “manipulated figures” on refugees:
“UNHCR has transformed itself into a bureaucratic mafia financed by the defunct USAID and operated by paid mercenaries who have completely distorted the concept of the refugee,” reads the communiqué.
Venezuela asserts that the UN agency “far from fulfilling its humanitarian mandate, its actions validate political warfare against independent and rebel countries,” used as instruments to “raise funds and attack sovereign nations such as Venezuela.”
“Once again, they are exposed in the ignominy of their immorality,” concludes the statement titled “UNHCR: From International Organization to Mafia at the Service of USAID.”
According to the report published by UNHCR, Venezuela rose to the top of the list with the highest combined number of refugees, given the return of nearly two million Syrians following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad and a drop in the number of Afghan refugees.