David Smolansky, an exiled mayor and coordinator of the working group for Venezuelan migrants at the Organization of American States (OAS), presented on October 6 the latest figures on Venezuelan migrants, which, according to his calculations, have reached more than 4.6 million.
Smolansky said on Twitter that among the organization’s member nations Colombia is the country where most Venezuelan migrants have arrived, with 1.6 million. The United States is third, with 422,000. The non-OAS member that received the most Venezuelans is Spain, with at least 300,000 migrants.
Ecuador, which recently imposed a visa requirement on Venezuelans entering the country, is also on the list, with about 350,000 Venezuelans. Uruguay and Bolivia are the countries with the fewest Venezuelan migrants, with about 10,000 each.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the OAS figures are consistent with the latest numbers the agency issued in August, with about 4.3 million Venezuelans who have left their country in recent years.
In a recent exclusive interview with Voice of America’s Venezuela 360, UNHCR High Commissioner Filippo Grandi said that more funding is needed to help the refugee crisis created by the Venezuelan exodus to more than 15 countries in the Western Hemisphere.
For Smolansky, the only solution is the exit of the Nicolás Maduro regime. “The only solution to stop this unprecedented human avalanche is for the usurpation to end,” he said.