More Venezuelans are seeking asylum abroad, UNHCR says

More and more Venezuelans are seeking asylum abroad, with nearly a quarter of a million applications lodged last year alone, the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday. In all, more than 414,000 asylum claims have been filed by Venezuelan nationals abroad since 2014, nearly 60 per cent, or 248,000, during 2018 alone, it said.

"As a result of the situation in Venezuela, the number of asylum applications by Venezuelan citizens worldwide has increased exponentially," UNHCR said in a statement reporting national statistics. Venezuela's economy has been crippled by mismanagement and, since 2014, by a drop in the price of oil, its most important export. Inflation is running at more than 2 million per cent a year, in a country where the minimum wage is around $6 a month.

The crisis has worsened since President Nicolas Maduro was re-elected in May 2018 in an election widely condemned as fraudulent. Amid massive demonstrations, opposition leader Juan Guaido was declared interim president by the National Assembly. Maduro has clung to power, responding to his opponents with violence and repression, according to Amnesty International. During five days of protests from Jan. 21 to Jan. 25, dozens were killed and 900 arrested, the human rights group said.

UNHCR says people fleeing conflict or persecution are entitled to protection under international law. Two-thirds of asylum applications by Venezuelans were registered in Latin America, with the rest in North America and some European countries, it said.

The total outflow of Venezuelans is estimated at more than 3.4 million, up from 3.3 million in December, it said.