Venezuelans return from Colombia after facing discrimination amid COVID-19 pandemic

Venezuela’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza welcomed on Saturday, April 4, thousands of Venezuelans who returned from Colombia after facing xenophobia and discrimination amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Following migration and health protocols established by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Bolivarian Government have deployed authorities and personnel to receive them. “We are registering and coordinating the return of thousands of Venezuelans from Colombia. They are all undergoing medical evaluations and COVID-19 tests. Many of them are in transit, going to border posts. Welcome home!” wrote the Venezuelan foreign affairs minister on his Twitter account @jaarreaza. Minister Arreaza also shared the story of a Venezuelan woman who was victim of xenophobia and denied medical care because of her nationality. Arreaza remarked that in Venezuela Colombian citizens have never been discriminated, let alone to provide them healthcare. “Yorgelis Adriana returned today with his family to Venezuela. As soon as she arrived, she underwent the COVID-19 test. She denounced the discrimination against Venezuelans in Colombia. We have never discriminated the millions of Colombians that live with us, and we will never do it,” stated Arreaza. So far, thousands of Venezuelans are stranded not only in Colombia, but also in Peru, Ecuador, Chile, the United States and Europe due to the world pandemic and the unilateral coercive measures that have blocked clearance to send humanitarian flights.