Venezuelan Migrant Crisis; Emergency Situation in Peru, Deployment of Brazilian Army to the Border

Following the escape of thousands of Venezuelans from the critical conditions to neighboring countries, the Brazilian government announced on Tuesday that it will deploy military forces to the border region with Venezuela to maintain order. The Peruvian government also stated that it has declared a state of emergency in border areas due to health risks. According to Reuters, Michel Temer, the President of Brazil, has issued an order to send military forces to the border region of Roraima state. Earlier this month, local residents in one of the cities of Roraima state attacked a migrant camp, leading to clashes between Venezuelan migrants and local residents. The Peruvian government has declared a 60-day health emergency in two northern states bordering Venezuela due to what it has called a 'serious threat.' Although the Peruvian government's statement did not provide further details regarding this 'serious threat,' officials in the country had previously expressed concerns about the spread of diseases such as measles and malaria through Venezuelan migrants. In this context, the United Nations announced this week that the influx of Venezuelan migrants to South American countries is approaching a critical point, comparable to the movement of refugees from the Mediterranean region to Europe. Meanwhile, Michel Temer has blamed the government of Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela, for the migrant crisis. The Brazilian President stated in a television program: 'The issue of Venezuela is no longer an internal matter; it is a threat to the order of the entire continent.' In this regard, senior immigration officials from Peru, Colombia, and Brazil held a two-day meeting in Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, to discuss the Venezuelan migrant crisis. The United Nations recently announced that approximately 2.3 million people have fled the crisis-stricken country of Venezuela over the past three years, heading to Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, and Peru. This number accounts for seven percent of Venezuela's total population. The oil-rich country of Venezuela is facing a deep economic crisis, experiencing severe shortages of food and medicine, and the International Monetary Fund has predicted that Venezuela's inflation rate will reach one million percent this year. Maduro, the socialist president of Venezuela, accuses Western countries of waging an economic war against Venezuela and being the cause of the economic crisis in the country. He was re-elected as President of Venezuela in May of this year, although several countries did not recognize the results of the presidential election in Venezuela.