- A group of Venezuelans presented their arguments in a letter sent to the Panamanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to request the recognition of non-valid passports.
The president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, signed an authorization on October 3 so that Venezuelans in that country can carry out procedures with their expired passports, which until now was not allowed.
The measure implies that Venezuelans in Panama will be able to access banking services or carry out procedures related to driver’s licenses with their non-valid document.
However, the permit will be valid for six months as the deadline for Venezuelans to renew their passport.
“This is going to help many people who are here in Panama and cannot, for obvious reasons, go to Venezuela to renew their travel document,” said the Panamanian president during his weekly press conference.
This flexibility occurred after a group of Venezuelans from the Venezuelan Command sent Mulino a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to express their concern about the difficulties in renewing the document due to the lack of consular representation in Panama.
In the letter, the Venezuelans stated that the breakdown of diplomatic relations and consular offices with Venezuela created a “difficult and complex” situation that prevented them from carrying out procedures.
“We strongly request the national government of Panama to consider the possibility of recognizing these expired passports for legal and administrative purposes,” the letter reads.
Breakdown of relations between Venezuela and Panama
On July 29, President Mulino announced that diplomatic relations with Venezuela were on “suspense” and ordered the withdrawal of his personnel in the country.
The measure came after rejecting the results of the presidential elections that, according to the National Electoral Council (CNE), declared current president Nicolás Maduro the winner for a third term in office.
After this announcement, the Maduro government responded with the suspension of flights to Panama which was announced by the National Institute of Civil Aeronautics (INAC).
The Venezuelan authorities accused the Panamanian government of “interference” for rejecting the results of the presidential elections issued by the CNE.
In Venezuela, one of the international airlines with the greatest presence in the air market is the Panamanian Copa Airlines.
In February 2023, the Panamanian airline was flying to 73 different destinations and celebrated 25 years of operations in Venezuela. During 2022, it registered more than 420 thousand passengers transported to and from Venezuela.
Venezuelan consulates closed in other countries
In addition to Panama, since July 29, the Venezuelan consulates in Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay, they ceased operations.
These measures paralyze passport renewal procedures and affect millions of Venezuelans who are in these countries.
Following these decisions, governments such as Argentina, Chile and now Panama have implemented measures to ease the requirements for residency and immigration procedures for Venezuelans.
In the case of Chile, citizens can leave the country with their expired passports, as well as carry out other procedures.
In Argentina, the National Directorate of Migration of Argentina reported on August 6 that a Special Immigration Regularization Regime would be carried out aimed at Venezuelans with expired passports or ID cards so that they can carry out the residency procedure.
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2024-10-03 21:40:57
