Brazil is sending troops to its northern border to "guarantee law and order" amid an ongoing crisis which is seeing thousands of Venezuelans attempting to cross into neighbouring countries and beyond.

Brazilian President Michel Temer signed a decree on Tuesday to deploy the armed forces to the state of Roraima, making the announcement during a speech from Planalto Presidential Palace.

“The migratory wave in Roraima is the result of the terrible living conditions to which the Venezuelan people have been subjected,” Temer said during the speech.

In a tweet he added that the Brazilian government has been offering medical and humanitarian assistance to the migrants, including building shelters.

The Guarantee of Law and Order decree – where the armed forces are authorized to take on policing duties – will go into effect from August 29 to September 12.

Hundreds of Venezuelan people cross into Roraima every day in search of safety, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported earlier this month. Migrants are also flooding across Venezuela’s border with Colombia to the west.

From 2015 to 2017, the agency estimated that the number of Venezuelans living outside the country has more than doubled, from 700,000 to more than 1,600,000.

Venezuela has been engulfed in economic crisis since oil prices plummeted in 2015. The country is one of the world’s major producers of oil, and the resource fuelled Venezuela’s economy under former President Hugo Chavez.

President Nicolas Maduro declared a state of “economic emergency” in early 2016, with issues rooted in falling oil prices, plummeting currency rates, power struggles within the government, the looming possibility of default and ongoing food shortages.

Brazil’s move to strengthen security in Roraima comes as its immigration officials met with counterparts from three other South American countries to coordinate on policies affecting outward migration from the beleaguered country.

Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil held two days of talks in Bogota on the crisis and ways to coordinate the countries’ response to the crisis that is spilling over Venezuela’s borders.

A statement issued after the talks was devoted to a new agreement between Peru and Colombia to share information on Venezuelans coming into their countries – many of them try to claim residence in both Peru and Colombia, which is not allowed.
Eduardo Sevilla, the National Superintendent for Migration in Peru said that many Venezuelans who had applied for a Special Permit of Residence in Colombia were then moving to Peru and applying for a Temporary Residence Permit there.

“It is important that Migration Colombia and Migration Peru know how many of them have been opting for both processes, because they are mutually exclusive,” Sevilla said.

Follow N1 via mobile apps for Android | iPhone/iPad | Windows| and social media on Twitter | Facebook.