ORANJESTAD.- The Government of Aruba has decided yesterday night that it closes its borders with Venezuela. With this, the Government of Aruba reacted on the news that the Government of Venezuela had opened the borders with Aruba and Brazil. Venezuelan Vice President Tarek El Aissami yesterday announced that the Venezuelan Government will open the borders with Aruba and Brazil again, after they closed the borders with Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire last February. In the afternoon, the Government of Aruba got an official statement from Venezuela, that they opened the borders between Venezuela and Aruba.
The Government of Aruba in the first instance has said that this is not opportune. Then they announced: “Observing the unprecedented crisis situation that the neighboring country is going through, with an increase in migration that could have negative effects on public order and security in Aruba, considering the general interest of the island, it has been decided that Aruba closes its borders with Venezuela for a period of one (1) month, a notice that is addressed to all the authorities concerned.”
Legally a person who has applied for asylum in Aruba can stay on the island. The Government has to offer accommodation, food, medical care, school for children and money if they can’t get a job. One of the conditions for a person to request asylum is that the person arrives in Aruba with a direct flight or boat. If not, you can not apply for asylum. The Government of Aruba fears that from the moment that Venezuela opens the border, many people will come via direct flight or boat from the Bolivarian country and ask for asylum in Aruba. For that reason, they decided to close the border with Venezuela. In his statement, Tareck El Aissami, did not mention anything about the borders of Curaçao and Bonaire.
