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International Policy Analysis: USAID and Venezuela

Jennifer A. Tedder

School of Social Work, Tulane University

DRLS 6020: Disaster Operations and Policy

Professor Corey Eide

March 23, 2021

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International Policy Analysis: USAID and Venezuela

Since 2014, Venezuela has been experiencing a complex humanitarian emergency (CHE)

stemming from economic and political upheaval in the area (CDP, 2020; USAID, 2020). The

country’s currency, the bolivar, has become hyperinflated and wages in the area have fallen

(CDP, 2020; USAID, 2020). The overvalued currency, low wages, lack of access to fuel, food

shortages, and political strife have forced many Venezuelans to seek safety, shelter, and

resources in neighboring countries (CDP, 2020; USAID, 2020).

Venezuelans are travelling to the countries of Columbia (1.7 million refugees), Peru (1

million), Chile (457,300), Bolivia (415,800), Brazil (261,400), Panama (118,900), Mexico

(101,600), Argentina (179,200), and other countries, totaling over 5 million globally displaced

Venezuelans displaced since 2014 (CDP, 2020; USAID, 2021a). Many displaced Venezuelans

traveled to the neighboring country of Columbia, however due to COVID-19, Columbia closed

its borders to refugees in early 2020. In October of 2020, the country began to ease restrictions

(ReliefWeb, 2020). For those that are in Columbia, the country has offered assistance, but

because of the high numbers of refugees, people are facing unemployment and starvation waiting

for help (CDP, 2020).

Whether the refugees choose to stay in Columbia or return to Venezuela, they face life in

a country where they cannot afford basic necessities. According to the CDP (2020), the country’s

inflation rate has increased over 3,500% annually. The economic crisis there has been made

worse by the United States imposing sanctions on the country starting in 2015 because of the

political instability in the country (GAO, 2019). Venezuela’s economy was once supported by its

oil production. Now, due to the government’s mismanagement of the oil industry and additional

sanctions imposed by the US in 2019, the country has only one production well. Additionally,
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there are no refineries in the country that can process the crude oil into usable fuel for those that

desperately need it (CDP, 2020; GAO, 2019).

The inability to make money, multiplied by the inflation rate and further impeded by the

trade sanctions imposed on the country, is causing homelessness, suffering from myriad health

problems, and starvation. Additionally, President Nicolas Maduro, whose leadership of

Venezuela is the impetus of the political strife, has denied that there is a crisis and has closed the

borders of the country to humanitarian efforts (CDP, 2020). Any aid being brought into the

country is done through informal crossing points and in conjunction with governmental

organizations, non-governmental organizations, and locals (ReliefWeb, 2020).

Current Policies and Programs

USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) was formed to support early

recovery, invest in risk reduction, and build resilience among communities facing humanitarian

crises around the world. According to the USAID website (2021b), the program was created in

2020 to restructure and integrate the expertise and resources of the former USAID Offices of

U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and Food for Peace (FFP). With the combined staff

and knowledge of the former organizations, USAID/BHA is able to respond to disasters in

approximately 70 countries a year. As refugees continue to flee Venezuela for other nations, this

CHE affects more than 10 countries. USAID/BHA is working in each of them to help displaced

Venezuelans and countries that are hosting them.

USAID/BHA is working throughout the region to assist those who have been affected by

this CHE. Maduro’s blame of the sanctions from the US and other countries for the problems the

country is facing has led the government of Venezuela to actively blocking aid going into the

country (CDP, 2020). At present, the countries that are hosting refugees are receiving the
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majority of the aid. USAID and other organizations are stock-piling food, medicine, and other

resources in the border countries of Brazil and Columbia, in the hopes that they will be able to

transport it to those in need inside Venezuela eventually.

Food security is one of the most needed areas of assistance that USAID/BHA is working

to address. USAID/BHA is focused on helping the refugees and those still in Venezuela to access

locally sourced produce, giving people cash and food vouchers to use in local markets, and

bringing in other nutrition needs (ReliefWeb, 2020; USAID, 2021a). Along with providing and

helping people access food, USAID/BHA is working to improve food supply coordination and

capacity-building with the local and regional food suppliers.

Another desperate need being addressed by USAID/BHA is that of access to health care

and medicines. Many of the refugees left Venezuela to access healthcare for themselves, or to

send medicine and other resources back to their families still in Venezuela (USAID Saves Lives,

2019a). USAID/BHA has set up medical facilities near the border areas, especially in Columbia

and Peru, to administer vaccines and provide other medical aid (USAID Saves Lives, 2019b).

USAID and partner organizations are staffing and providing equipment for local health clinics

and operating additional clinics in the refugee host countries. They are training local staff to help

increase their ability to detect, notify, and quickly respond to outbreaks of diseases in the areas

that are becoming more populated.

Other resources that USAID/BHA is supplying are WASH supplies, education, and

economic recovery (USAID, 2021a). This is done through a variety of methods, including

providing refugees vouchers that can be used at local stores and markets for basic necessities

related to sanitation (USAID Saves Lives, 2019a). The organization is closely monitoring the
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situation as it develops and changes, in order to make sure that essential assets are available in

the locations where they will be of most benefit to Venezuelans.

Protection of Venezuelan citizens and aid organization workers, especially around the

Columbian-Venezuelan border, is another area of concern. USAID/BHA and partner agencies

are working to increase protection services in the region (ReliefWeb, 2020). These services aim

to address gender-based violence prevention and case management, address mental health and

offer support, help to secure child-friendly space, and offer legal assistance. The organization is

cooperating with local authorities while working within substantial limitations due to the CHE.

Interest Groups

The people who are refugees outside of Venezuela have the most to benefit from the aid

of USAID and the NGOs that are in the area. USAID/BHA is helping them to access food,

WASH, medicine, and safe passage once they are out of Venezuela. The resources offered by the

organization and its partners are invaluable to these displaced persons. The host countries are

also beneficiaries of this aid, as their resources are being quickly strained by the influx of

refugees.

Those who are still in Venezuela are benefitting when the resources are able to reach

them. This could be directly from the aid organizations or through their family members who are

being hosted in nearby countries. As the aid organizations have positioned themselves near the

borders of Venezuela, any who cross can access aid and protection quickly.

The leadership of Venezuela is also benefitting from the aid organizations, like

USAID/BHA, that have stationed themselves in the refugee host countries and are working to

import aid into the country. Because of the aid being sent to the citizens of Venezuela, the

leadership is more able to ignore, disregard, and deny the needs of the people. Those who can are
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leaving the country, lessening the strain on the Venezuelan government and adding to that of the

neighboring countries (ReliefWeb, 2020).

Why to Continue Aid to Venezuelans

As Venezuela’s political leadership is denying their part in any problems in the country,

the need for humanitarian assistance will continue to be abundant. The people of Venezuela are

facing a multifaceted problem that will continue until the political discord is resolved. The

people will continue to suffer without basic necessities and without outside interventions, such as

that of USAID/BHA and other organizations, they will not get relief. USAID/BHA and their

partner organizations have the ability, resources, and intel to know where to send aid so that it

will be put to the best use. USAID/BHA is able to coordinate, inform, and protect itself and its

partner organizations, while working in unison with host countries and other aid organizations to

provide this desperately needed humanitarian aid.

Financial Considerations

Over 45 million US dollars were spent by USAID/BHA on aid in Venezuela in 2020.

Together with other organizations, over 500 million total was spent in the surrounding region

where refugees are located (USAID, 2021a). More than 750 million dollars has being requested

for the 2021 year (ReliefWeb, 2020). The money sent to Venezuela itself is important to help

those still there afford food and medicines. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused further

complications in accessing the country, requiring more resources and new tactics to reach the

people still in Venezuela, adding additional costs.

With the hyperinflation of the country’s bolivar, how much is actually being

accomplished within the country? How will inflation affect the amounts of funds needed in the
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future? Will the additional funds requested for 2021 be enough to support all that is needed,

especially considering the further needs caused by the pandemic? As

Short and Long-term Impacts

In the short term, the Venezuelan refugees hosted in nearby countries are being helped by

USAID/BHA and other organizations. They are working to establish themselves in these new

locations, even if temporarily. Those who have made it out of Venezuela are working to acquire

resources and send some aid back to their families in Venezuela. As mobility of both people and

supplies were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the process for both leaving Venezuela and

getting aid back into the country has become more complicated. This especially affects the most

vulnerable refugees, such as older adults, pregnant women and those who recently gave birth,

and minors. As Columbia has begun to reopen its borders and allow refugees into the country

again, the country expects the arrival of refugees in the first months of 2021 to exceed 300,000

people (ReliefWeb, 2020), which will further add to the strain felt by the host country.

Protection of the aid organizations is another factor of both immediate and possibly long-

term concern among those in the area. Banks in Venezuela were instructed by government

officials to monitor the relief organizations for “illicit activities” (ReliefWeb, 2020). The

Venezuelan government has also been harassing NGOs in the area, conducting unannounced

inspections of their offices and interviews with staff. This monitoring and harassment by the

government has caused the organizations to fear for their workers safety and the safety of those

they are assisting. Organizations like these help provide food and resources for around 25,000

Venezuelans. If this continues, will the organizations be forced to discontinue their operations to

protect the safety of their workers? How long will the organizations be able to operate under

threat from the Venezuelan regime?

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The long-term impacts of this complex humanitarian emergency are difficult to predict

due to the instability of the Venezuelan government. Should the current regime maintain power,

this crisis may go on indefinitely. As the current government is denying involvement in the

colapse of the country’s economy and the influence that has on the health of its people, what will

it take for them to publicly recognize the humanitarian needs of the population and work to

remedy the situation? How long can the economy experience this inflation before the country is

unable to recover? What affect is the crisis going to have on families that are separated? How are

the host countries going to be affected in the long-term? Will they continue to accept refugees, or

will the influx of Venezuelans overwhelm their countries? How long will organizations, like

USAID, be able to continue supporting those still in Venezuela, the refugees who have fled to

other countries, and the host countries? Is there anything else that can be done?
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References

Center for Disaster Philanthropy. (2020, July 16). Venezuelan humanitarian and refugee

crisis. https://disasterphilanthropy.org/disaster/venezuelan-refugee-crisis/

Relief Web. (2020, September). Venezuela Regional Crisis – Complex Emergency. ReliefWeb -

Informing humanitarians worldwide. 

https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Venezuela%20Regional%20Crisis

%20-%20Complex%20Emergency%20Fact%20Sheet%20%233%2C%20Fiscal%

20Year%20%28FY%29%202020%2C%20September%2025%2C%202020.pdf

U.S. GAO. (2019, March 13). Venezuela: Additional tracking could aid treasury's efforts to

mitigate any adverse impacts U.S. sanctions might have on humanitarian assistance.

U.S. Government Accountability Office (U.S.

GAO). https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-239

USAID Saves Lives. (2019, February 7a). “The Venezuelan way”.

Medium. https://usaidsaveslives.medium.com/the-venezuelan-way-906903b29bbd

USAID Saves Lives. (2019, February 27b). Responding to Venezuela’s health crisis.

Medium. https://usaidsaveslives.medium.com/venezuelas-health-crisis-870fd174d176

USAID. (2020, June 17). Venezuela. https://www.usaid.gov/humanitarian-assistance/venezuela-

regional

USAID. (2021, February 5a). Venezuela migration crisis - Peru: Second largest destination for

Venezuelan migrants - Peru. ReliefWeb. https://reliefweb.int/report/peru/venezuela-

migration-crisis-peru-second-largest-destination-venezuelan-migrants
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USAID. (2021, March 5b). Bureau for humanitarian assistance (BHA). U.S. Agency for

International Development. https://www.usaid.gov/who-we-

are/organization/bureaus/bureau-humanitarian-assistance