A group of migrants with banners and shouting “We want to return!” were asking for humanitarian flights. They commented that so far, three flights sent by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro have departed for that country. In an interview, Jesús Rafael Zavala commented that not having a passport, just an ID card, makes it more complicated.
“They’re only taking into account people with valid passports. The plane that arrived in Venezuela today, leaving here with several friends from our group, all had valid passports,” the Venezuelan commented.
Zavala said they keep lists, and if you’re among the first few but don’t have a valid passport, they skip the list and give priority to those with valid passports. “We’re asking the Mexican government to take a little action on this matter for us, because in reality, we’re not being listened to. We’ve been here for two months.”
In his case, he is traveling with his daughters and partner. He signed up on the list on February 23rd, and the responses from immigration authorities indicate that he and seven other families with children of other nationalities are listed last, due to the fact that they have children of other nationalities.
“We have not received any support from the president (Claudia Sheinbaum) (…) they are in an agreement with Venezuela, discussing the matter with us here to see if the president can provide some planes to send from Mexico to Venezuela, and so far we have not received any response,” Rafael added.
It is worth mentioning that 79 people recently left Mexico to receive humanitarian flights. He added that approximately 55 families also left Tuxtla Gutiérrez for Mexico City to travel on a humanitarian flight to Venezuela, which arrived today.
Meanwhile, another desperate Venezuelan woman stated that she has already lost her job due to having to go to immigration every day to check on her exit status. “We really need to leave. We are desperate. We want to leave because this wasn’t our destiny. We didn’t want to invade your country,” she commented.
Another option that those with valid passports have tried is to travel on their own, from Tuxtla to Cancún and Cancún, Mexico. However, Franklin Montilla, another Venezuelan, stated that the cost of the ticket has increased to $750, compared to $250, which complicates the situation.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan families are waiting for the federal government to help them. So far, they have received no support. They say they will continue to insist until they are granted travel to reunite with their families in Venezuela.
Source: oem
