UN chief offers Colombia assistance for refugees

bogota - The United Nations is prepared to mobilize international aid for Colombia to meet the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan refugees. This is what UN chief António Guterres said on a weekend visit to the Colombian capital Bogota.

Guterres spoke among others with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. Guterres repeated his offer to Venezuela to send humanitarian aid, but Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro refused to accept it for the time being.

Oil and mineral rich Venezuela is in deep crisis due to prolonged mismanagement and falling oil prices. The country is suffering from, among other things, hunger, hyperinflation, unemployment, violent crime and shortages of basic living needs. In the past two years, an estimated 500,000 Venezuelans have gone abroad. Many cross the border with Colombia.