Trump administration in ‘informal’ talks with allies to take more Venezuelan refugees

The Trump administration has begun informal talks with partner countries in Latin America about the United States taking in some refugees from Venezuela, a potential turnaround from its tough stance on accepting refugees from conflict-torn countries.

A senior administration official told McClatchy that while no agreements have been struck and details were scarce, U.S. officials have begun these talks “informally” as part of a larger strategy to address the hundreds of thousands of fleeing Venezuelans whose numbers threaten to destabilize partner countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

“Those conversations are happening,” a senior administration official said. “I’m not prepared to speak to where we’re going with those yet, but it’s certainly something that we’re looking at in terms of how the region generally is going to be absorbing all of these people flowing out of Venezuela.”