Covering the plight of Venezuelans inside and outside the country
Access to necessities is difficult for many Venezuelans in that country’s current economic crisis, and access to information is no exception. Voice of America is stepping in to provide audiences in the country and surrounding areas with factual, unbiased and reliable information to help Venezuelans make decisions that affect their lives.
The VOA Spanish Service’s Venezuela 360, a 30-minute weekly multimedia current affairs program, is a credible and uncensored look into Venezuela’s economic and political crises that have upended millions of lives.
Inside the country, the shortage of banknotes, the fall in the purchasing power of the country’s currency, the Bolívar, and growing hyperinflation have revived the ancient activity of bartering. VOA recently interviewed Venezuelan farmers traveling to the country’s capital of Caracas to exchange their crops for other staples. VOA’s story attracted over 161K views on Facebook, more than 10.8K views on Instagram and was shared by El Salvador’s daily newspaper, “La Prensa Gráfica.”
But much is happening outside the nation’s borders as Venezuelans continue to leave the country to escape violence, lack of food, medicine, and essential services. VOA correspondents continue to provide in-depth analysis of the impact of that migration on other countries and are delivering the latest news and features to audiences throughout Latin America and beyond.
Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López spoke to VOA from exile in Spain, where an increasing number of Venezuelans are migrating. He said the new U.S. leadership in Washington represents hope for a new approach that could lead to change in Venezuela. He also highlighted the European Union’s commitment to the Venezuelan opposition. The article received 4.5K views on Instagram and 2K+ views on Facebook.
VOA examined the Colombian government’s policy announced in February that will give temporary protective legal status to Venezuelan migrants. About 966,000 of the 1.73 million Venezuelan migrants living in Colombia do not currently have legal status, VOA said. The story of how neighboring Colombia is setting an example of inclusion received more than 2.2K views on Facebook. VOA also recently spoke with the Colombian ambassador in Washington on the cost of helping Venezuelans in Colombia.
Venezuelans fleeing the despair of their own country don’t always get a welcoming reception. VOA looked at how a Venezuelan family in Peru faced xenophobia and how a campaign involving the Alianza Lima, a Peruvian professional sports club, aimed to combat it through sports. The story received more than 3.2K views on Facebook and more than 1.4K views on Instagram.
Meanwhile in Argentina, VOA correspondents found that some Venezuelans are making home deliveries on a bike for their livelihood. VOA interviewed one man in Buenos Aires who became a delivery man to pay for his son’s medical treatment. The story was viewed more than 3.1 million times on Instagram and received 3K views on Facebook.