BOGOTA, Colombia_The number of Venezuelans seeking asylum tripled from 2015 to 2016, as the once-wealthy nation continues to be trapped in an economic, social and political crisis.
According to a United Nations report released Monday, about 34,200 Venezuelans sought asylum in 2016 _ up from 10,200 claims the previous year.
Of those applicants, 18,300 sought refuge in the United States.
The Venezuelan exodus is notable because for decades the South American country had been a destination for refugees attracted by its thriving, oil-rich economy and welcoming immigration policies.
In 2016, the nation was still home to more than 172,000 people (primarily Colombians fleeing decades of violence) who were living there under "refugee-like conditions," according to the report from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
Francesca Fontanini, a spokeswoman for the UNHCR, said that in the past year there had been a "significant increase" in Venezuelan asylum seekers in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama and Mexico.
What the report doesn't reflect are the numbers of Venezuelans moving abroad for economic reasons who don't apply for asylum.
According to a U.N. estimate from 2015, 606,344 Venezuelans lived abroad, more than half of them in the United States.
The United States received 262,000 new asylum applications in 2016, up 52 percent from the previous year and double those in 2014. That puts it second only to Germany (722,400) in terms of new claims. And it was followed by Italy (123,000) and Turkey (78,600).
Of those applying for asylum in the United States, 52 percent were from Mexico and Central America. The most common country of origin was El Salvador with 121,200 applications, followed by Mexico (27,900), Guatemala (25,700), China (19,900) and Honduras (19,500).
