Peru: Boluarte Attributes “criminal Acts” To Migrants

LIMA ( Associated Press) - Peruvian President Dina Boluaarte linked the arrival and presence of Venezuelan and Haitian migrants in the country to civilian insecurity in a statement Wednesday. "Unfortunately they are the ones who are committing these criminal acts," she said, referring to the 800,000 foreigners who came to the country during the government of Pedro Kuczynski.

He also announced a deadline for migrants to regularize their documents and ordered the army to go to the borders to strengthen immigration control in conjunction with the police.

Boluarte's statements coincide with a climate of concern about civilian insecurity and the arrival of undocumented foreigners - including Venezuelans, Colombians and Haitians - who seek to enter Peru from Chile, where immigration controls have increased. All the migrants, including women and children, are in the middle of the road that connects the borders of Chile and Peru.

Boluaarte told a press conference that when the issues of migration and citizen insecurity are mentioned, even though they are two separate issues, one should "speak almost in unison." He argued that during the government of former President Pedro Kuczynski (2016-2018) "free entry was allowed to all citizens who wanted to enter" and that at that time 800,000 Venezuelans and many Haitians entered who "unfortunately They are the ones who are "the perpetrators of these acts".

The Peruvian president recalled that the radio, written and television press "broadcast every day that those who commit daily attacks and robberies and other criminal acts are foreigners." He stated that the measures taken by his government were aimed at protecting Peruvians from crime that "these foreigners commit in their capacity as immigrants in the national territory."

The issue of immigration has dominated a large part of the local agenda since the municipality of Lima banned window cleaning work after a Venezuelan man stabbed a Peruvian in early April by sticking a scissor blade into his heart. was murdered. Police also detained dozens of Venezuelans suspected of being part of a criminal organization.

In 2021, the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru conducted a study entitled "Public Perception of Venezuelans in the Mirror of the Media".

After analyzing 380 journalist notes, it was found that 80% of the material negatively characterized Venezuelan immigrants.

The Peru-based office of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) last week asked not to incite discrimination against foreigners "in view of the coverage in the media and networks in recent days of crimes involving citizens of Venezuelan nationality". He called for the perpetrators to be punished regardless of their nationality, but stressed that these incidents "do not represent the community" and should not "incite discrimination".

According to official figures, the majority of Venezuelans work and drive Peru's economy. In prisons, Venezuelan prisoners make up 2% of the inmates, according to the National Penitentiary Institute.

At the same conference, Boluaarte said that foreigners who enter regularly and their immigration status becomes irregular over time will be able to regularize their documents within a period of six months without penalty.

He indicated that another term, not yet determined, would be assessed for those who entered without any form of immigration control.

The president said he would temporarily send troops to various points along the borders with Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and Chile to strengthen border controls carried out by police.

This is not the first time that the army has been appointed for this task.

The UNHCR said in 2022 that Venezuelans in Peru make up about 3.5% of the population of about 33 million and that Lima--where there are 1.1 million Venezuelans--is the first city in the world for the number of displaced Venezuelans.