Growing Backlash Against Venezuelan Migrants In Colombia

Jose Paéz (right), who migrated from Venezuela, pleads with a Colombian police officer. He was detained with about 50 other people at a roadblock in Pamplona. John Otis for NPR 

NPR: Large Venezuelan Migration Sparks Xenophobic Backlash In Colombia 

Just three days after crossing the border into Colombia to escape food shortages, joblessness and authoritarian rule in Venezuela, Alexander González says he's shocked by the xenophobia of his adopted homeland. 

"Colombians treat Venezuelans badly," says González, 19, as he takes a breather in the Colombian town of Pamplona before setting off on foot for the capital of Bogotá. "They practically spit in our faces." 

Amid Venezuela's worst-ever economic crisis, which is widely blamed on corruption and mismanagement by President Nicolás Maduro's socialist regime, more than 5 million Venezuelans have fled the country. 

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WNU Editor: I have friends who live in neighboring Guyana on the other side of Venezuela. They tell me that there are now more Venezuelans in the country than Guyanans, and like Colombia, no one wants them to stay. In response these migrants cannot access the services that many in Guyana take for granted. And they certainly will not be permitted to become citizens.

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