Millions of refugees from Venezuela are straining neighbours’ hospitality

KATALINA, A 20-YEAR-OLD nursing student from Barquisimeto in north-western Venezuela, fled last year as living conditions became intolerable. She spent 11 months in Peru, but her hosts were hostile towards Venezuelan migrants, especially women, and she found little work. So in June she moved to Chile, arriving just as its government tightened rules for Venezuelans entering the country and began expelling those without the right papers. She sneaked across the border at night, dreading that she would step on a landmine planted by Chile in the desert in the 1970s. Now she is staying with a friend in Santiago, Chile’s capital, waiting for permission to remain. “All I want is for my situation to be regularised,” she says.

Katalina’s obstacle-strewn odyssey is becoming the norm for Venezuelans joining the 4m who have fled since 2014. Perhaps half a million more have not been counted because they sneaked across borders. On August 26th Ecuador became the latest country to tighten entry requirements, joining Peru and Chile in obliging most Venezuelans to present a passport and evidence of a clean criminal record, which are difficult to obtain. Brazil and Colombia have so far kept their borders open.