MEXICO CITY, Oct 21 (Reuters) – Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday urged the United States and Venezuela to restore ties and pressed Washington to allow more Venezuelans to enter the United States as migration reaches record levels.
The United States last week announced a plan to grant up to 24,000 Venezuelans humanitarian entry amid efforts to stem growing border crossings by Venezuelans fleeing economic hardship and political unrest at home.
According to the plan created with Mexico, the United States can expel back to Mexico Venezuelans who try to cross illegally.
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Mexican officials are concerned about the growing number of Venezuelans entering their territory and are eager for Washington and Caracas to improve ties to ease the economic situation in Venezuela and facilitate the return of migrants. To see also : Investing in the Future of the Pacific: U.S. Aid Continues to Face WWII Outburst Risks – U.S. Department of State.
“Relations between the government of the United States and Venezuela must be restored,” Lopez Obrador said at a regular press conference. “I know they’re working toward a deal.”
US officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Before the new plan was announced on Oct. 12, Venezuelans who crossed illegally into the United States, which cut diplomatic ties with Venezuela in 2019, were often allowed to stay because it was difficult to send them back.
Several thousand Venezuelans who entered the United States illegally were sent back to Mexico under the new plan.
Lopez Obrador urged the United States to expand Venezuela’s humanitarian access permits beyond 24,000 people.
“They are not enough,” he said, adding that he was sure Washington would expand the program if applications warranted it. “We will ask them to issue more.”
Earlier this week, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said he was confident Washington would increase the number.
More than 150,000 Venezuelans were apprehended at the US-Mexico border between October 2021 and August 2022, more than triple the number in the entire 2021 fiscal year, US data show.
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Reporting by Raul Cortes, Valentine Hilaire and Isabel Woodford; Additional reporting by Ted Hesson; Editing by Daina Beth Solomon, Christian Plumb and Bill Berkrot Read also : Jacqueline C. Romero has been sworn in as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
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