The United Nations said on Tuesday it was seeking $738 million in 2019 to help neighboring countries cope with the inflow of millions of Venezuelan refugees and migrants, who have “no prospect for return in the short to medium term”. It was the first time that the crisis was included in the U.N. annual global humanitarian appeal which is $21.9 billion for 2019 without Syria. Three million Venezuelans have fled the political and economic crisis in the Andean country, most since 2015, according to the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR. “There is one crisis for which we for the first time have a response plan, which is to help the countries neighboring Venezuela deal with the consequences of large numbers of Venezuelans leaving the country,” U.N. emergency relief coordinator Mark Lowcock told a Geneva news briefing. In Caracas, Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. The majority of Venezuelans who have left have gone to 16 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, led by Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. “In 2019, an estimated 3.6 million people will be in need of assistance and protection, with no prospects for return in the short to medium term,” the…
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