The government of Gustavo Petro is turning its back on Venezuelans who come to Colombia in search of international protection, after fleeing persecution by Nicolás Maduro’s dictatorship. Figures obtained by SEMANA reveal that the Foreign Ministry has held back 29,551 requests for recognition of refugee status, submitted by Venezuelans who went to the Colombian State in search of protection.
These procedures have been shelved for months or years because the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has delays of more than three years in studying and analyzing these requests, despite the fact that those who request them are people who fled Venezuela because their lives were in danger due to their political position, their work as human rights defenders or because they work in the media. There are dozens of journalists in this condition.
Since July 28th, when Nicolás Maduro stole the presidential elections, there have been 1,693 requests at the Foreign Ministry for refugee status from Venezuelans, of which 688 have already been rejected for protection processing for supposedly not meeting the requirements.
Although this office responded to a petition sent by SEMANA so that these people can resubmit their application, the lack of processing of these requests is leaving hundreds of people without protection in an environment in which migrants have already reported being the target of attacks even when they have already left their country, as SEMANA previously confirmed with the case of Pablo Parada, who asks for refuge in Colombia after the dictatorship pointed him out as “part of a plan to overthrow Maduro”.
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