Rising numbers of Venezuelans seek exile in US

[Bacchus39]

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Rising-numbers-of-Venezuelans-seek-exile-in-US-1438919.php

MIAMI (AP) — Oliver Gaviria was driving along a highway in Caracas when two men dressed in black pulled up alongside him on motorcycles and told him to stop the car. One held a gun to his temple and they threatened to kill him, saying he was a traitor to President Hugo Chavez's government.

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The 40-year-old is among thousands of Venezuelans who have left their homeland over the last decade, some of them citing political persecution and saying they have been targeted for their opposition to Chavez's government.

At least 4,500 political asylum requests by Venezuelans have been granted between 2000 and 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The number of Venezuelans granted asylum could be higher because a single request can involve multiple people or an entire family.

That's about five times more than the previous decade.

In Latin America, the number of Venezuelan asylum seekers was surpassed only by those from neighboring Colombia, which continues to struggle with a decades-long armed conflict involving Latin America's largest rebel army.