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WORLD NEWS Saturday 29 July 2017

Colombia: Temporary status for some Venezuelans amid crisis

25 to qualify. been noted, but Colombia economy was booming.
It does not apply for the has prepared contingency More recently that tide
estimated 100,000 or more plans to handle a sudden has reversed, with many
Venezuelans who entered influx such as sending 1,000 of those same migrants
illegally through the na- officials to border points. returning to Colombia to
tions’ porous, 1,370-mile “Each one of them knows get away from triple-digit
(2,200-kilometer) frontier, where to go, which team inflation, food and medi-
although officials are re- they are with,” Kruger said. cal shortages and a homi-
viewing their situation. The Andean neighbors cide rate that is among the
Migration agency director have historically had a fluid world’s highest.
Christian Kruger said Co- border relationship, with An estimated 25,000 Ven-
lombia is closely watching many crossing on a daily ezuelans enter Colom-
migratory patterns ahead basis to go to school or bia daily at legal crossing
of Venezuela’s contentious work. points, either to buy food
Sunday vote for a spe- Decades ago 4 million Co- other supplies or to visit
In this July 17, 2016 photo, a man stands over the crowd waiting cial assembly that will be lombians migrated to Ven- family. About the same
to cross the border into Colombia through the Simon Bolivar tasked with rewriting con- ezuela when their country number return each day,
bridge in San Antonio del Tachira, Venezuela. Colombia said stitution. was mired in armed conflict according to Colombian
Friday, July 28, 2017, it will grant temporary legal status to more
than 150,000 Venezuelans who entered the country legally and So far no changes have and Venezuela’s oil-rich migration officials.q
overstayed their visas, due to the deteriorating political and
economic crisis in their home country.
(AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
By CHRISTINE ARMARIO relief for those who entered
Associated Press with a passport at a border
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) checkpoint but are now
— Colombia said Friday it in the country illegally and
will grant temporary legal unable to work, exposing
status to more than 150,000 them to potentially abusive
Venezuelans who entered employers and conditions.
the country legally and The protection will be valid
overstayed their visas, due up to two years and let re-
to the deteriorating politi- cipients work and receive
cal and economic crisis in social security benefits.
their home country. Venezuelans must have
The measure is meant as a entered on or before July

Troops deploy in Rio de Janeiro
amid increasing street violence

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — patrols they will soon start
Thousands of Brazilian sol- participating in operations
diers have begun patrol- against drug traffickers.
ling in Rio de Janeiro amid That is a break from previ-
a spike in violence. Increas- ous duties that were lim-
ing shootouts between ited to patrolling, manning
drug traffickers and police, checkpoints and recover-
assaults and stray bullets ing caches of weapons
killing bystanders have led seized during police raids.
authorities in recent weeks Rio, which hosted the 2016
to acknowledge that Summer Olympics, has sev-
much of the city is out of eral hundred slums that are
their control. Defense Minis- controlled by drug gangs.
ter Raul Jungmann said Fri- Public security experts say
day that more than 10,000 Brazil’s worst recession in
troops had been activat- decades is exacerbating
ed. He said that after initial the situation.q