Brazil deploys army to Venezuela border as thousands flee economic crisis

Troops aim to restore order as refugees fleeing financial collapse and gang crime stoke violence

 

Brazil has moved troops to its northern border as thousands of refugees fleeing the economic collapse in neighbouring Venezuela continue to pour into the country.
Michel Temer, the Brazilian president, announced the military would be deployed in the state of Roraima in a bid to restore order amid the growing migrant crisis.
Thousands of Venezuelans have already crossed the border as they attempt to seek refuge in Brazil and other countries beyond, due to hyperinflation and food shortages in their home nation.
But, the situation has also prompted unrest and new data from violence monitors shows Roraima now has the highest murder rate in the country.
For the past three years, the state, like many areas in Brazil, has been a battleground for criminal organisations warring over territory.
It is now also a major entry point for Venezuelans fleeing turmoil in their homeland and the two problems combined are creating an epidemic of violence, experts warn.
“What we see is that there is a clear feeling of the fragility of local institutions to deal with the fear of people, who are starting to think the state has no rule of law,” said Bruno Paes Manso, a researcher with the Centre for Violence Studies at the University of Sao Paulo.
“This leads people to defend themselves. You have this perception: people are arriving from every corner, crime dominates, and homicides multiply in these contexts.”
In a brief televised address announcing troops would be deployed to Roraima, Mr Temer described the plight of ordinary Venezuelans as a “tragic situation” that now affected much of South America.
He said Brazil was already offering medical assistance and other aid to those crossing the border in order to “minimise the impact of the humanitarian disaster caused by the Venezuelan government.”
“The migration to Roraima is the result of the terrible living conditions to which the Venezuelan people are subjected,” he added.
“We will seek support in the international community for the adoption of firm diplomatic measures to solve this problem, which is no longer a country's internal policy, but has advanced across the border of several countries and threatens the harmony of our entire continent.”
The government had already decided to deploy units from an elite military-style police force after residents of a border town attacked Venezuelans and set fire to their belongings earlier this month.
Its latest decree will see the army put onto the streets in Roraima starting from Wednesday and lasting until at least 12 September.
Mr Temer did not say how many troops he would send.
The UN estimates more than 2.3 million Venezuelans have left the country since an economic crisis worse than the Great Depression has taken hold in recent years.