The officials in the Mexican city of Tijuana are reportedly expecting a surge in migration from Venezuela in the upcoming months, amid instability following the presidential elections last month.
Venezuela witnessed the presidential elections on July 28, following which, the country's electoral authority declared President Nicolás Maduro the winner. However, the agency hasn't released the detailed breakdown of the results.
Meanwhile, the opposition published a set of data, which showed Maduro lost by a large margin to opposition candidate Edmundo González. Even though Maduro questioned the authenticity of the data, it was supported by several Latin American countries and the United States.
Reacting to the post-election unrest, Enrique Lucero, the head of Tijuana's Migrant Affairs Office, said, "The Venezuelan exodus is already very high. Let's remember, this exodus began as Maduro took power more than 10 years ago, 8 million Venezuelans have already fled their country looking for protection in the United States," as per Border Report.
Lucero noted that more people will leave Venezuela if conditions worsen.
"We have to see how the post-election crisis settles, if Maduro remains in power, we can expect a spike in migration out of Venezuela," he said.
He added Venezuelans were already one of the largest groups seeking asylum in the United States.
"CBP One numbers show Venezuelans are the third-largest community of asylum seekers only behind Cubans and Mexicans, about 130 Venezuelans enter the U.S. from Tijuana daily."
The disputed election has led to protests and riots in the country, with Maduro ordering the arrests of protesters, who took to the streets to demand his resignation. So far, the police has arrested more than 2,000 people.
Furthermore, he also blocked social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) to control the narrative. Countries like the United States, Argentina and Chile have urged Maduro to step down, while allies like China and Russia have congratulated him.
Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil have also requested Maduro to release the real voting results and step down.
Venezuela has now witnessed an exodus of over 7.7 million people. This situation is causing chaos in the country's economy, politics and dating scene. Young people are grappling with the decision of starting or ending relationships amid uncertainty.
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