President Guillermo Lasso affirmed on Wednesday, before the General Assembly of the United Nations, that his country is one of the largest recipients of Venezuelan migrantswho are cared for, despite the “budgetary difficulties” of their own country.
“With half a million Venezuelans living in Ecuador, we are one of the three main recipients of migrants from that country and, despite our budgetary difficulties, we serve that population with health, education and other social services,” Lasso said.
He even emphasized that he hopes the world will support his country with the plan that seeks to regularize the immigration status of Venezuelans residing in Ecuador and that he aspires to legally integrate them into the economic and social life of the country.
“Ecuador is there for the world and I know that the world will also support us with this regularization plan for venezuelan brothers who have had to leave their country,” the president added.
In Ecuador, there are at least half a million people from Venezuela, according to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the government hopes to regularize 324,000 of them in the coming months.
On the other hand, the president also described Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “absurd.” He lamented the situation of the people affected by the war and who had to flee from the russian invasionand mentioned how his government facilitated the return of more than 700 Ecuadorians.
Fight against drug trafficking
In addition, President Lasso highlighted in his speech that Ecuador is the third country in the world in seizures of cocaine.
“Today, we are increasing activities like never before to maximize drug seizures and dismantle the transnational gangs that transport them,” Lasso said, adding that he knows he is not the only country fighting “this monster, which, in fact, is not has only one face, but several, such as human trafficking, money laundering, arms trafficking and others”.
In addition, he assured that transnational crime “must be solved transnationally” and called for “more collaboration.”
Lastly, Lasso highlighted the creation of the ‘Hermandad’ marine reserve in the Galapagos Islandswhich increased “by more than 60 square kilometers the area of protection of this natural heritage of humanity,” said the Ecuadorian president.
Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channel Youtube and turn on notifications, or follow us on social media: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Add Comment