THE WASHINGTON POST: Venezuelan military offensive sends thousands fleeing, recharging one of the world’s worst refugee crises →

A new campaign by the Venezuelan military near the country’s lawless western border is sparking a surge of refugees, with thousands defying the spiking pandemic to pack into makeshift shelters and tent settlements in this Colombian town.
The sudden outflow is amplifying a renewed wave of Venezuelan refugees and migrants — the world’s second-largest group of internationally displaced people — from the broken socialist state. Concern is also rising about mounting tensions between the left-wing Venezuelan and right-wing Colombian governments, which are blaming each other for the uptick in violence in Venezuela’s western Apure state.

Ana Maria Vásquez, 30, has taken refuge with her five children at the sports field in Arauquita. Photo: Steven Grattan