UN envoy decries ‘worrying’ acts against Venezuelan expats

QUITO, Ecuador – A U.N. official focusing on refugees from Venezuela is calling on regional governments to reject “extremely worrying,” if isolated, acts of xenophobia, hatred and intolerance against people fleeing the country.

Eduardo Stein, the joint representative for the International Organization for Migration and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees for Venezuela, is denouncing “violent actions, physical and verbal attacks” against Venezuelan citizens in several countries in the region in recent days.

He didn’t specify the acts.

Ecuador took new measures last week to vet incoming Venezuelans after the killing of a 22-year-old pregnant woman by her Venezuelan boyfriend sparked a wave of unrest against migrants.

Stein on Monday credited a mostly “exemplary” reaction in the region to the outflow of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in recent years.