There's currently an unofficial curfew in place for Venezuelans in Pacaraima, a small border town in Brazil's northern state of Roraima. On August 18, following an attack on a Brazilian shop owner that was blamed on a Venezuelan, a mob attacked migrants with clubs and stones and forced about 1,200 people who had taken up residence in Pacaraima to leave. Now, no Venezuelans dare to go out at night.

"We have to hurry home before sundown because groups of Brazilians are patrolling the town and hunting Venezuelans," said Gustavo Luces, who fled from Maturín five months ago.

Miguel Angel Garcia, another Venezuelan, lost all of his possessions and documents when his tent was set on fire during the attack. "The police act as if they don't see the motorbike riders who patrol the streets," he said. "We are treated like dirt, like animals."

Protests against Venezuelans continued in Pacaraima even after the mob attacks

'Defending our houses'

Police deny that they are overlooking the civilian patrols, but members of the groups that conduct them proudly confirm their existence.

"I would advise the Venezuelans not to be on the streets at nighttime; it could be dangerous for them," said Wendel Lima, a 31-year-old who took part in the attacks but denied that the mob used violence. "We are doing just what has been agreed with the military police: When we come across someone who has settled here, we ring the police."

Fernando Abreu, a retired teacher, said the patrols served to show Venezuelans that they are not welcome. "We will prevent them from staying here," he said, calling for stricter measures at the border. "We are just defending our houses, our physical integrity. Nearly all of them here are criminals who exploit their children by making them beg."

Watch video 02:52 Share Peru halts Venezuelan migration Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/33p2l Venezuela's neighbors try to put brakes on migration

Public Security Minister Raul Jungmann denies that the government has offered little in the way of support for regional governments to feed and house displaced Venezuelans. During a visit to a refugee accommodation on Thursday, he said that from now on state security forces would patrol the town.

"We want to prevent large numbers of immigrants gathering in a town like Pacaraima," Jungmann said. "We will erect temporary accommodation between the border and Boa Vista," the state capital. Jungmann also said the border would not be closed and that the situation in the region was under control.

Half as many Venezuelans cross the border per day as did before the attacks

Priest defies flock

Jesus Bobadilla, a Spanish priest who was born in Morocco, has become an advocate for Venezuelans in Pacaraima — much to the chagrin of longer-term residents. "Talk of peace and quiet in the town is misleading and does not reflect the truth," Bobadilla said. "No one knows what will happen next. Violence is in the air." He added: "I have lost half of my believers."

Bobadilla, too, described the night patrols, when club-carrying hooded men on motorbikes prey on Venezuelans. "They organize so-called car convoys for peace," he said, "but it doesn't have anything to do with peace efforts: just patrols."

Last week, motorbike riders and about 20 cars, mainly big pickups, drove past the places in town where Venezuelans had gathered — until recently. "We drive through the town and appeal for peace," a teacher named Neura Costa said. "We cannot receive so many people, and many of them came here to steal."

The intimidation appears to have worked: The number of Venezuelans seeking shelter in Pacaraima has dropped precipitously since the mob attack. Until August 18, 800 to 1,000 Venezuelans sought refuge in the town per day on average; now, half as many cross the border seeking more sustainable conditions there.





Many return to Venezuela to sleep after handling administrative matters in Brazil

Better than Venezuela?

Jose Garcez arrived at the border with his family last week, with eventual plans to settle in Boa Vista. For now, he is keeping his family on the Brazilian side of the border. "The attacks scare us," he said. "No one knows what is going to happen next, and we have no money to travel to Boa Vista."

The family follows the same routine as hundreds of other people holed up on the Venezuelan side of the border: During the day they try to gather food and documents in Pacaraima, and at night they cross back, to sleep in a lorry park.

Whole families, from small children to elderly people, compete for sheltered sleeping places. There is no running water. Many of the families use cardboard boxes for beds.

Every morning Venezuelan soldiers force the people from the shelter. "It is degrading," Garcez said. "We feel like animals. But it is better than the situation I fled. There is nothing there. Four months ago my youngest son died. There was no medication for him. The Venezuelan government killed him".

As Public Security Minister Jungmann visited the reception center on the Brazilian side of the border last week, Garcez was preparing to continue his family's journey. He had sold their last mobile phone for 120 reals (€25, $30), which paid for himself, his wife, his mother and five children. "I hope they do not attack us like happens to Venezuelans here," he said.

The perilous flight out of Venezuela Iconic image Each day 30,000 to 40,000 people cross the 315-meter-long (1,000-foot-long) Simon Bolivar bridge (pictured) between Venezuela and Colombia. Since September 2015 some 20 million Venezuelans have crossed into the neighboring Colombian province of Norte de Santander, says its governor William Villamizar. At the same time, he adds, 17 million individuals have been registered as entering Venezuela.

The perilous flight out of Venezuela Shopping over the border Most Venezuelans come to Colombia to stock up on basic food stuff and medicine. It is cheaper there than in their own country, where inflation has spiraled out of control and made the Bolivar, Venezuela's currency, nearly worthless. Some 3 million citizens are thought to have permanently migrated to Colombia.

The perilous flight out of Venezuela Refugiados welcome? Colombians initially welcomed fleeing Venezuelans with open arms, just like Germans welcomed refugees in summer 2015. But now, experts say, the mood has shifted. Many have begun demanding the government provide less financial support to refugees and instead invest more in helping ordinary Colombians. However, aid for refugees is still provided in reception centers (above).

The perilous flight out of Venezuela Heading south According to official figures, approximately 1 million Venezuelan nationals currently reside in Colombia. Given that a total of 3 million Venezuelans crossed into Colombia, about 2 million must have traveled onward. In the first half of 2018 alone, over 500,000 of them migrated to Colombia's southern neighbor Ecuador.

The perilous flight out of Venezuela Stopover in Ecuador Ecuadorian authorities estimate that only 20 percent of Venezuelan nationals who arrived in the country in 2018 permanently settled there, like this family living in a makeshift camp near the capital, Quito. Most Venezuelans presumably intend to keep on traveling southward and reach either Peru, Chile or Argentina.

The perilous flight out of Venezuela Hitting the brakes After several days when some 5,000 Venezuelans wanted to cross from Colombia into Ecuador, Quito began demanding that Venezuelan nationals show valid passports to emigrate, rather than just an ID as was previously needed. This new regulation applies to adults. For children, proof of paternity and parental passports is enough to let them cross the border.

The perilous flight out of Venezuela Chain reaction After Ecuador Peru followed suit, announcing it would implement the same regulation in the near future. Peruvian Interior Minister Mauro Medina said that about 80 percent of Venezuelan refugees arrive with valid passports, but many Venezuelan NGOs warn that passports have now become luxury items in the crisis-stricken country, requiring large sums of cash or high-level contacts to acquire one.

The perilous flight out of Venezuela Tension in the air More than 100,000 Venezuelans have migrated to Brazil since 2016, most of them to the country's north. From there, roughly half them travel onward to Ecuador and Peru. The situation in northern Brazil is tense: The country's government has said it will redistribute Venezuelan immigrants to other regions. Critics have accused the government authorities of failing to support Brazil's border region.

The perilous flight out of Venezuela Attacks and confrontations Last weekend, local residents in the Brazilian border town of Pacaraima attacked makeshift camps housing Venezuelan refugees. They set their dwellings on fire and drove hundreds back across the border. Media reports say Brazilian police did nothing to stop the mob violence. The attack was said to be triggered by the robbery of a Brazilian businessman — a crime allegedly committed by refugees. Author: Jan D. Walter



At 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of news and features. Sign up to receive it here.