Venezuelan migrants face abuses at home and abroad

Significance

However, the credibility of the campaign against President Nicolas Maduro’s government both within and outside Venezuela is undermined by the failure of Maduro’s critics to uphold the rights of Venezuelan migrants.

Impacts

• Deferred Enforced Departure pushes the Venezuela ‘issue’ back up the clogged agenda of the incoming administration.
• Trump’s late toughening of sanctions will raise pressure to address the humanitarian impacts of a policy that has not brought regime change.
• Increasing migrant outflows will undermine the fight against COVID-19 in the Americas.
• Guaido may come in for criticism for his relative silence on recent abuses against Venezuelan migrants.