Ecuador is the Largest Recipient of Refugees in Latin America

Each month Ecuador receives about 1,500 Colombians that flee violence in their country. This number has caused this country to be the main country that hosts refugees in Latin America.

Currently there are 54,500 refugees in this country. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), over 25,000 are still pending asylum applications, the highest number in Latin America.

In Ecuador, a 98% of the refugees are Colombians; a large number of them have been involved in crimes that have generated concern in the Ecuadorian citizenship because they see insecurity in the country as the biggest problem in Ecuador. Because of this, President Rafael Correa announced Saturday that he will harden the requirements to deliver the refugee status to “the one that really deserves it.” (BG)

Source: El Universo Newspaper