LIMA, Peru (AP) — Nearly one hundred Venezuelan migrants in Peru are making an unexpected journey home after deciding to take up their government's offer of a free flight back instead of continuing to eke out a living in a foreign land.

With packed suitcases in hand, the migrants prepared Monday to board an all-expenses paid flight to capital city Caracas with Venezuelan state-run airline Conviasa, a trip that most would be unable to afford on their own.

"My experience wasn't pleasant," said Aury Durand, 24, who is eight months pregnant and said she was returning with a mix of "happiness and rage," after working long hours at a car wash and only getting one-third of the wages she was due.

"I'll be happy to see my country, whatever state it's in," she said.

In interviews with The Associated Press, several of those returning said they had difficulty finding jobs and encountered hurtful xenophobia that made a recent offer by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to fly them back appealing — a sharp contrast to the plight of hundreds of thousands of compatriots now trying to leave.

An estimated 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled their nation's crippling economic and humanitarian crisis since 2014, according to the United Nations. In countries like Colombia and Peru, several thousand migrants now enter the country planning to stay each day. The dramatic influx has sparked tensions and fueled xenophobia.

Still, the vast majority of those arriving say they'd prefer to start over than suffer through Venezuela's food and medical shortages, making the group departing Peru an outlier, though still a telling example of the trials many face.

"Peru opened its doors, but it also didn't have a plan," said Robinson Martinez, a returning 32-year-old mechanical engineer.

Martinez said that in his first three months in Peru he made a living selling candy on the street and even managed to send as much as $15 back to Venezuela in remittances a week. But as the number of Venezuelans arriving in Peru continued to boom, the work became harder. He made fewer sales and said his rent doubled.

Then Martinez and his wife read online about a new initiative launched by Maduro called "Return to the Homeland," encouraging young Venezuelans who have left to come back and work in Venezuela — chopping up the flight of the nation's brightest as another right-wing scheme to loosen his grip on power.

"Venezuelans won't be slaves to anyone in the world!" Maduro proclaimed.

The offer might have felt like a farce to the droves who can barely afford food amid soaring hyperinflation expected to reach 1 million percent this year, but Martinez was intrigued, willing to put his trust in the president's offer.

Over dinner one evening with his wife, who found work at a radio station in Peru, Martinez said she suggested that, "The best thing is for you to go to Venezuela and I'll help from here."

On Monday morning, Martinez and his 8-year-old daughter were among those heading to the airport.

"He's giving us the opportunity to return without paying anything," Martinez said of Maduro. "He said that on arriving in Venezuela, he'll give us a hand with a productive job. I trust it."

More than 400,000 Venezuelans are now living in Peru, with the vast majority arriving this year. Peru recently enacted stiffer entry requirements, asking all Venezuelans who reach the border to show a passport. Migration officials from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil are meeting in Bogota this week to decide on a regional response.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>Lima: Peru has declared a 60-day health emergency in two provinces on its northern border, citing "imminent danger" to health and sanitation, as a regional crisis sparked by thousands of Venezuelans fleeing economic collapse escalated on Tuesday.

The decree, published in the government's official gazette, did not give more details on the risks, but health authorities have previously expressed concerns about the spread of diseases such as measles and malaria from migrants.

Meanwhile, Brazil was sending armed forces to keep order near the Venezuelan border area, in the state of Roraima.

The exodus of Venezuelans to other South American countries is building toward a "crisis moment" comparable to events involving refugees in the Mediterranean, the United Nations said this week.</s>LIMA, Peru (AP) — Nearly one hundred Venezuelan migrants in Peru are making an unexpected journey back home after fleeing their nation's economic and humanitarian crisis.

Several dozen Venezuelans will board a flight from the Peruvian capital of Lima to the city of Caracas on Monday afternoon.

In interviews with The Associated Press, several said they had difficulty finding jobs as migrants and ultimately decided to take up the Venezuelan government's offer to provide them a free trip home.

The United Nations estimates 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled since 2014 as their nation slides into a crisis considered worse than the Great Depression.

Tensions have risen in many of the South American cities where they are now arriving.

Nonetheless, the vast majority believe they are better off abroad.</s>Image copyright Reuters Image caption Soldiers are to police the border which has been strained by an influx of Venezuelan migrants

Brazil says it is sending its army to the Venezuelan border to "guarantee law and order" amid an influx of migrants fleeing the crisis-hit country.

President Michel Temer said in a televised address on Tuesday that Venezuela's "tragic" situation threatened peace across South America.

Millions of Venezuelans have fled their country due to hyperinflation, and food and medicine shortages.

Brazil's move follows recent border clashes between locals and Venezuelans.

Following those clashes, President Temer sent a small contingent of troops to the border town of Pacaraima, where the unrest happened.

On Tuesday, he signed a decree which will deploy soldiers for two weeks along the border and federal roads of its northern state of Roraima.

"The problem of Venezuela is no longer one of internal politics. It is a threat to the harmony of the whole continent," Mr Temer said.

In addition to ensuring the security of Brazilians, the soldiers' role is also to look after the Venezuelan migrants' safety, the president stated.

Meanwhile, neighbouring Peru has declared a 60-day health emergency in two provinces on its northern border, after health authorities expressed concerns of the spread of diseases from migrants.

What is happening in Venezuela?

Venezuela is in its fourth year of an economic crisis, brought on by a crash in oil prices in 2014.

Four in five Venezuelans live in poverty, and people queue for hours to buy food while others are dying from a lack of medicine.

This was compounded by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's decision in August to issue a new currency to manage the country's runaway inflation - a move that caused widespread confusion.

Some 2.3 million citizens have fled the country since 2014, sparking the worst migration crisis in Latin American history, according to the United Nations.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Venezuelans are fleeing political instability and hyper inflation

Regional tensions have been stoked, as neighbouring countries struggle to accommodate the exodus of Venezuelans.

The UN's migration agency said last week Venezuela is heading for the same refugee "crisis moment" seen in the Mediterranean in 2015.

What are neighbouring countries doing?

There are more than a million Venezuelans in Colombia, more than half a million in Ecuador, more than 400,000 in Peru and some 60,000 in Brazil.

Brazil has not said how many of its armed forces will be sent to police the border this week.

One minister told journalists that troops were already in place, while another warned Brazil "needs to discipline" the influx of migrants.

This month, Peru began tightening its border by requiring passports instead of national ID cards from Venezuelan migrants.

The first day the new rule was instituted, Peru reported a more than 50% drop in the number of migrants. But hundreds more without passports entered the country by seeking asylum.

Similar regulations were introduced in Ecuador, only to be overturned by a court ruling.

Brazil's northern state of Roraima has also had its attempt to close the border with Venezuela thrown out by a judge.

Violence erupted in Pacaraima last week when local residents attacked makeshift camps housing Venezuelan migrants. The camps were burned down and the occupants temporarily fled back across the border.

Despite the violence, the number of Venezuelans crossing daily into Brazil has continued to rise.

Foreign ministers from Ecuador, Colombia and possibly Peru and Brazil are expected to meet and discuss Venezuelan migration in Ecuador next week, after top immigration officials met at an earlier summit in Colombia's capital Bogotá.

Where is Venezuela in all this?

Many are blaming Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his socialist government for the dire state the nation is in and the exodus of its citizens.

He blames "imperialists" - the US and Europe - for waging "economic war" against Venezuela and imposing sanctions on many members of his government.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "This is the largest exodus Latin America has experienced" - UNHCR's Chiara Cardoletti

The head of Venezuela's constituent assembly suggested the country's escalating migration crisis was being staged to make the government look bad.

"Doesn't it strike you as suspicious there are photos of [these people] walking along the roadside in Peru, walking along the roadside in Ecuador, walking along the roadside in Colombia," said Diosdado Cabello, according to local media.

"It's as if it was: 'Lights, camera, action!' It's a campaign against our country," Mr Cabello said last week.

On Tuesday, Venezuelan state media reported 89 citizens had been repatriated from Peru after being exploited there.

Critics however called the move a publicity stunt.</s>Nearly one hundred Venezuelan migrants in Peru are making an unexpected journey home after deciding to take up their government’s offer of a free flight back instead of continuing to eke out a living in a foreign land.

With packed suitcases in hand, the migrants prepared Monday to board an all-expenses paid flight to capital city Caracas with Venezuelan state-run airline Conviasa, a trip that most would be unable to afford on their own.

“My experience wasn’t pleasant,” said Aury Durand, 24, who is eight months pregnant and said she was returning with a mix of “happiness and rage,” after working long hours at a car wash and only getting one-third of the wages she was due.

“I’ll be happy to see my country, whatever state it’s in,” she said.

In interviews with The Associated Press, several of those returning said they had difficulty finding jobs and encountered hurtful xenophobia that made a recent offer by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to fly them back appealing — a sharp contrast to the plight of hundreds of thousands of compatriots now trying to leave.

An estimated 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled their nation’s crippling economic and humanitarian crisis since 2014, according to the United Nations. In countries like Colombia and Peru, several thousand migrants now enter the country planning to stay each day. The dramatic influx has sparked tensions and fueled xenophobia.

Still, the vast majority of those arriving say they’d prefer to start over than suffer through Venezuela’s food and medical shortages, making the group departing Peru an outlier, though still a telling example of the trials many face.

“Peru opened its doors, but it also didn’t have a plan,” said Robinson Martinez, a returning 32-year-old mechanical engineer.

Martinez said that in his first three months in Peru he made a living selling candy on the street and even managed to send as much as $15 back to Venezuela in remittances a week. But as the number of Venezuelans arriving in Peru continued to boom, the work became harder. He made fewer sales and said his rent doubled.

Then Martinez and his wife read online about a new initiative launched by Maduro called “Return to the Homeland,” encouraging young Venezuelans who have left to come back and work in Venezuela — chopping up the flight of the nation’s brightest as another right-wing scheme to loosen his grip on power.

“Venezuelans won’t be slaves to anyone in the world!” Maduro proclaimed.

The offer might have felt like a farce to the droves who can barely afford food amid soaring hyperinflation expected to reach 1 million percent this year, but Martinez was intrigued, willing to put his trust in the president’s offer.

Over dinner one evening with his wife, who found work at a radio station in Peru, Martinez said she suggested that, “The best thing is for you to go to Venezuela and I’ll help from here.”

On Monday morning, Martinez and his 8-year-old daughter were among those heading to the airport.

“He’s giving us the opportunity to return without paying anything,” Martinez said of Maduro. “He said that on arriving in Venezuela, he’ll give us a hand with a productive job. I trust it.”

More than 400,000 Venezuelans are now living in Peru, with the vast majority arriving this year. Peru recently enacted stiffer entry requirements, asking all Venezuelans who reach the border to show a passport. Migration officials from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil are meeting in Bogota this week to decide on a regional response.</s>Nearly one hundred Venezuelan migrants in Peru are making an unexpected journey home after deciding to take up their government's offer of a free flight back instead of continuing to eke out a living in a foreign land.

With packed suitcases in hand, the migrants prepared Monday to board an all-expenses paid flight to capital city Caracas with Venezuelan state-run airline Conviasa, a trip that most would be unable to afford on their own.

"My experience wasn't pleasant," said Aury Durand, 24, who is eight months pregnant and said she was returning with a mix of "happiness and rage," after working long hours at a car wash and only getting one-third of the wages she was due.

"I'll be happy to see my country, whatever state it's in," she said.

In interviews with The Associated Press, several of those returning said they had difficulty finding jobs and encountered hurtful xenophobia that made a recent offer by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to fly them back appealing — a sharp contrast to the plight of hundreds of thousands of compatriots now trying to leave.

An estimated 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled their nation's crippling economic and humanitarian crisis since 2014, according to the United Nations. In countries like Colombia and Peru, several thousand migrants now enter the country planning to stay each day. The dramatic influx has sparked tensions and fueled xenophobia.

Still, the vast majority of those arriving say they'd prefer to start over than suffer through Venezuela's food and medical shortages, making the group departing Peru an outlier, though still a telling example of the trials many face.

"Peru opened its doors, but it also didn't have a plan," said Robinson Martinez, a returning 32-year-old mechanical engineer.

Martinez said that in his first three months in Peru he made a living selling candy on the street and even managed to send as much as $15 back to Venezuela in remittances a week. But as the number of Venezuelans arriving in Peru continued to boom, the work became harder. He made fewer sales and said his rent doubled.

Then Martinez and his wife read online about a new initiative launched by Maduro called "Return to the Homeland," encouraging young Venezuelans who have left to come back and work in Venezuela — chopping up the flight of the nation's brightest as another right-wing scheme to loosen his grip on power.

"Venezuelans won't be slaves to anyone in the world!" Maduro proclaimed.

The offer might have felt like a farce to the droves who can barely afford food amid soaring hyperinflation expected to reach 1 million percent this year, but Martinez was intrigued, willing to put his trust in the president's offer.

Over dinner one evening with his wife, who found work at a radio station in Peru, Martinez said she suggested that, "The best thing is for you to go to Venezuela and I'll help from here."

On Monday morning, Martinez and his 8-year-old daughter were among those heading to the airport.

"He's giving us the opportunity to return without paying anything," Martinez said of Maduro. "He said that on arriving in Venezuela, he'll give us a hand with a productive job. I trust it."

More than 400,000 Venezuelans are now living in Peru, with the vast majority arriving this year. Peru recently enacted stiffer entry requirements, asking all Venezuelans who reach the border to show a passport. Migration officials from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil are meeting in Bogota this week to decide on a regional response.</s>LIMA, Peru (AP) — Nearly one hundred Venezuelan migrants in Peru are making an unexpected journey back home after fleeing their nation's economic and humanitarian crisis.

Several dozen Venezuelans will board a flight from the Peruvian capital of Lima to the city of Caracas on Monday afternoon.

In interviews with The Associated Press, several said they had difficulty finding jobs as migrants and ultimately decided to take up the Venezuelan government's offer to provide them a free trip home.

The United Nations estimates 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled since 2014 as their nation slides into a crisis considered worse than the Great Depression.

Tensions have risen in many of the South American cities where they are now arriving.

Nonetheless, the vast majority believe they are better off abroad.</s>LIMA, Peru (AP) — Nearly one hundred Venezuelan migrants in Peru are making an unexpected journey back home after fleeing their nation's economic and humanitarian crisis.

Several dozen Venezuelans will board a flight from the Peruvian capital of Lima to the city of Caracas on Monday afternoon.

In interviews with The Associated Press, several said they had difficulty finding jobs as migrants and ultimately decided to take up the Venezuelan government's offer to provide them a free trip home.

The United Nations estimates 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled since 2014 as their nation slides into a crisis considered worse than the Great Depression.

Tensions have risen in many of the South American cities where they are now arriving.

Nonetheless, the vast majority believe they are better off abroad.</s>Venezuelan migrants wait outside their country's embassy for a bus that will transport them to the airport, in Lima, Peru, Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. The Venezuelans are being flown to Caracas on a flight financed by the government of President Nicolas Maduro. less

Venezuelan migrants wait outside their country's embassy for a bus that will transport them to the airport, in Lima, Peru, Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. The Venezuelans are being flown to Caracas on a flight financed ... more

Venezuelan migrants wait outside their country’s embassy for a bus that will transport them to the airport, in Lima, Peru, Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. The Venezuelans are being flown to Caracas on a flight financed by the government of President Nicolas Maduro. less

Venezuelan migrants wait outside their country’s embassy for a bus that will transport them to the airport, in Lima, Peru, Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. The Venezuelans are being flown to Caracas on a flight ... more

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Nearly one hundred Venezuelan migrants in Peru are making an unexpected journey back home after fleeing their nation's economic and humanitarian crisis.

Several dozen Venezuelans will board a flight from the Peruvian capital of Lima to the city of Caracas on Monday afternoon.

In interviews with The Associated Press, several said they had difficulty finding jobs as migrants and ultimately decided to take up the Venezuelan government's offer to provide them a free trip home.

The United Nations estimates 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled since 2014 as their nation slides into a crisis considered worse than the Great Depression.

Tensions have risen in many of the South American cities where they are now arriving.

Nonetheless, the vast majority believe they are better off abroad.</s>LIMA, Peru (AP) — Nearly one hundred Venezuelan migrants in Peru are making an unexpected journey back home after fleeing their nation's economic and humanitarian crisis.

Several dozen Venezuelans will board a flight from the Peruvian capital of Lima to the city of Caracas on Monday afternoon.

In interviews with The Associated Press, several said they had difficulty finding jobs as migrants and ultimately decided to take up the Venezuelan government's offer to provide them a free trip home.

The United Nations estimates 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled since 2014 as their nation slides into a crisis considered worse than the Great Depression.

Tensions have risen in many of the South American cities where they are now arriving.

Nonetheless, the vast majority believe they are better off abroad.
Peru declares a 60-day public health crisis in its northern provinces, with concern of the Venezuelan migrants spreading diseases.