The Venezuelan government accuses the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) of acting as a “bureaucratic mafia” serving U.S. interests through USAID, denouncing manipulated refugee figures and politicized reports aimed at undermining Venezuela’s sovereignty.

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Caracas, June 12, 2025 — The Venezuelan government has issued a strong denunciation against the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), accusing the agency of operating as a “mafia at the service of USAID,” the United States Agency for International Development.

The accusation came through a statement published by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil on his Telegram channel, rejecting UNHCR’s latest report on Venezuelan refugees and international protection needs.

“Mafia Bureaucracy” Serving Imperialist Agendas, Not Humanitarian Mandates

In the official communiqué, Venezuela asserts that UNHCR has become “a bureaucratic mafia financed by the now-defunct USAID and operated by mercenaries for hire who have completely distorted the figure of the refugee.”

Far from fulfilling its humanitarian mandate, the statement argues, UNHCR’s actions “validate the political war against free and independent countries,” turning their reports into “instruments of propaganda” designed to justify aggression, attract funding, and attack sovereign nations like Venezuela.

This critique aligns with longstanding Latin American perspectives that denounce the instrumentalization of international organizations by imperialist powers to undermine sovereignty and justify interventionist policies.

The text reads: #Statement UNHCR: From International Organization to Mafia Serving USAID
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela categorically rejects the recently published UNHCR report, which not only contains manipulated figures but also confirms the total degradation of this UN agency.

Disputing Refugee Figures Based on Opposition-Controlled Data

UNHCR’s “Global Trends 2024” report claims that by the end of 2024, there were approximately 370,200 refugees and 5.9 million others in need of international protection from Venezuela. The report bases these figures largely on data from a platform controlled by the extremist wing of the Venezuelan opposition, a source the Venezuelan government considers unreliable and politically motivated.

Venezuela contests these numbers, emphasizing that many Venezuelans abroad have regular residency and documentation, and condemns the use of manipulated statistics to fuel international pressure and sanctions.

Foreign Minister Yván Gil’s statement reiterates Venezuela’s categorical rejection of UNHCR’s report, highlighting the agency’s “total degradation” and its transformation from an international humanitarian body into an extension of U.S. foreign policy interests.

This denunciation is part of a broader regional discourse among leftist governments and movements that challenge the narratives imposed by Western-led international institutions, advocating for sovereignty, truthful representation, and resistance to imperialist interference.

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