Over 1 million move from Venezuela to Colombia in 16 months

The New York Times 02:43 - 14 June 2018

More than one million people have migrated from crisis-hit Venezuela to neighboring Colombia during the past 16 months, according to figures released by Bogota on Wednesday.

Authorities have determined that 442,462 have residence permits while 376,572 do not -- a total of 819,034 Venezuelans.

"To this figure, we must add 250,000 Colombians who have returned. So more than a million people have entered the country from Venezuela in the last 16 months," according to a statement from the agency charged with registering these migrants.

Bogota and the border regions receive most of the flow of migrants -- the largest in Colombia's history -- from Venezuela, where hyperinflation has crippled the country, leading to shortages of food and medicine.