Renewed Venezuelan Exodus Pushes Darien Gap Crossings Up 51%

(Bloomberg) -- The number of migrants coming through the Darien Gap increased by 51% in September as more Venezuelans crossed the treacherous jungle following Nicolas Maduro’s disputed reelection.

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Repression in the wake of Venezuela’s July election has led to an increase in out-migration, according to a report by Refugees International published on Friday. Data show that 25,111 migrants crossed last month, with more than 80% of them from Venezuela, followed by Colombia, Ecuador and China.

Venezuela’s electoral authorities declared Maduro won a third consecutive term in July amid widespread international criticism over the transparency of the vote count. The 19,800 Venezuelans who crossed the Darien in September represent a 68% increase from the month before.

Since 2015, almost 8 million have fled Venezuela in what is considered the largest mass migration in the Americas. As they’ve dispersed around the continent, backlash has grown amid perceptions that their arrival is often accompanied by an increase in crime.

A fresh Venezuelan exodus risks roiling politics in the US, which is home to more than 500,000 migrants from the country already, according to data from the United Nations. A Gallup poll last month showed immigration picked back up as an issue highlighted by voters as important in September after fading in the summer, but it was still short of highs seen early in the year.

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