Editor’s Note: This could happen anywhere that there are two distinctly defined groups. It doesn’t have to be migrants vs locals or one ethnic group vs. another. We’re seeing this replay across the United States, although not quite this violently. Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments about other ways you could see this playing out where you live. – Daisy
Peruvians and Venezuelans are both South Americans, albeit with different conducts and ways of thinking things. However, our countries have a not-so-nice relationship. These two countries share a common history. This shared history may shed some light on why Peruvians fear Venezuelans and are opposed to them coming to Peru.
It has been a rocky relationship between Peru and Venezuela for some time
Peru was always subject to the Spanish Crown’s special considerations as one of the most contributing factions to the Empire. Peru was the source of valuable mineral exploitation. They were not too convinced about leaving the sponsorship received by Spain. They had severe doubts about Simon Bolivar’s plan, and a sector of the population did not exactly well receive the ideals exposed by him. (Mainly because it involved the possibility of being killed in the war, I strongly suspect). And conceding a part of their country (as the Peruvians say) to build from scratch another country (Bolivia) only added to their growing dislike of Venezuela.
One of the most critical parts of the offshore Government of the Spanish Kingdom was Peru. Venezuela was not important back then. It was a colossal hacienda to produce mostly cattle, dairy, and armies. Peru received over half a million refugees, with all of the social consequences. It is easy to understand how much discomfort Peruvians must feel. Now, there are many people begging for food or money, and not all of them are really in need.
We Venezuelans experienced the same to a lesser degree back in the 80s and 90s with Bolivians and Peruvians. Caracas was a marvelous city during those years. The light socialists in power (we never really had a right-hand government since the middle 50s) allowed the uncontrolled migration that made our country incredibly dangerous in less than five years. Venezuela is still paying for the consequences of this major flaw as a society.
Venezuelans met with a rising wave of xenophobia from Peruvians
We Venezuelans used to receive anybody who wanted to live in our country without caring much about who they were. This willingness generated a society that would produce the soulless politicians who had no morale or love for the country nor a sense of the most personal transcendence in history.
The years since the mass displacement have been rough on my people. Many of the people I’ve talked to have said they would leave Peru as soon as possible. (They said this pre-pandemic, of course.) People told me they hadn’t collected enough information and got caught in a foreign country without papers. Many of us now realize how different this country is and how difficult it is to live beyond basics. We all need to provide for our families and want to obtain a good education on an international level. (Education is costly in Peru.) This type of education is something we need, as we don’t know if we will make it in Venezuela for too long. Part of “Plan B,” so to speak.
Some of us changed our minds long ago. The feeling is mutual. Many Peruvians are starting to change their minds about our permanency. And, the arrival of the virus has changed everything for everyone.
Consequences of the SHTF in Venezuela: racial tensions and violence
I never thought I would be exposed to these particular consequences of the mass displacement of Venezuelans. Racial tensions were practically unknown for most Venezuelans. Our country never had such problems. A light-skinned, blonde girl getting married to a brown-skinned man was never an issue. Blonde, blue-eyed guys falling madly in love with “mulatto” girls? Sure! Make sure to invite us to the party!
It’s hard to find closer-knit families. We are a mix of white with yellow hair, and our cousins are dark-skinned, with long black hair and green eyes. Our society, for the most part, believes in feelings rather than other visible traits. The racial problems came with the successive waves of European migrants: old school Italian or Portuguese fathers who forbid their daughters or sons to marry dark-colored people. Those old junks worked so hard and knew life too well to allow some “bon vivant” to take advantage of their families.
However, in a country where hard, honest work and study were a sure way to succeed, these family matters usually got fixed once both achieved their respective degrees and became professionals.
In Peru, these “family matters” are not accepted cannot be fixed
Venezuelan women are known to be extremely good-looking. Many problems have resulted in Peru because of this. Peruvians are generally protective of their kind. You can imagine the reaction toward a gorgeous young Venezuelan girl selling snacks and candies on a street corner. Many couples have not been approved, with the logical tensions, and marriages have broken up.
These racial tensions are nothing compared to the storm brewing on the horizon: an innocent young man was sadistically murdered in cold blood by a criminal who just happened to be Peruvian.
The media here has its own rules when it comes to these incidents. When something terrible happens, and a Venezuelan is the main suspect, the scandal is unbelievable. The story will bounce around for weeks or even months. When a Venezuelan girl selling pastries or coffee in the streets is kidnapped, raped, and violently murdered, the media decrees she was “surely” a prostitute. Even worse, many of these crimes are never solved.
Orlando Abreu: the incident that has Venezuelans in Peru scared
The murder of Orlando Abreu, a Venezuelan, could generate a Rodney King kind of situation and be potentially very dangerous for us. The murder was supposed to go unnoticed as it exposes the bribery and blackmailing scheme going on in one Peruvian city. However, the victim’s brother got his hands on a 4 minutes video showing Orlando being shot to death. The murder happened on January 26, 2021.
The brother released the video, which went viral. The authorities turned a blind eye. The outrage on social media was something I hadn’t seen.
OK, this is the scary part. (As if we Venezuelans don’t have enough to be concerned about with unemployment and COVID-19.) Some delinquents from Venezuela (in Peru) have issued threats against Peruvians on social media. These delinquents released a video that went viral, showing someone linked to the man who killed Orlando Abreu, being murdered.
Seeming retaliation against Peruvians by Venezuelans is shown in viral videos
*For my own safety, I will not post any links to any of the videos, only the reports made about the videos.
The video released on social media seems to be a retaliation for the murder of Orlando Abreu. The victim, Silvano Oblitas, from Huánuco, Peru, was thrown from a bridge somewhere in Colombia.
The person who showed me the video of this innocent, naïve young Peruvian man (God bless his soul) did not tell me what the content was. It was traumatizing to watch. I know this sort of thing can quickly escalate. Especially in a society where the sadistic behavior and consequent humiliation of Chile’s war are still fresh in their collective memory.
I am scared. Kiddo and I are trapped here with the borders closed
Last year was rough, but now, I have many reasons to leave Peru behind and NEVER look back. Even if I never traveled to Paracas to see the elongated alien skulls, which was one of my greatest illusions coming here. And I never made it to Macchu Picchu. Still, it’s time to get out of here.
Why am I so scared? This is a HUGE city with over 11 million people. A drive-by shooting, a mob beating, or a backstabbing is now something I consider possible against anyone who looks Venezuelan, considering the level of animosity I believe some people can feel.
Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to get a haircut and shave my goatee, now that I think about it. If you don’t usually pray for the writers of the websites you visit, I would appreciate it a lot if you start to do so. (I know many of you do, and for you, receive my blessings and eternal gratitude.)
Good thing I can go grey when needed.
I look forward to your comments! ~ Jose
About Jose
Jose is an upper middle class professional. He is a former worker of the oil state company with a Bachelor’s degree from one of the best national Universities. He has a small 4 members family, plus two cats and a dog. An old but in good shape SUV, a good 150 square meters house in a nice neighborhood, in a small but (formerly) prosperous city with two middle size malls. Jose is a prepper and shares his eyewitness accounts and survival stories from the collapse of his beloved Venezuela. Thanks to your help Jose has gotten his family out of Venezuela. They are currently setting up a new life in another country. Follow Jose on YouTube and gain access to his exclusive content on Patreon. Donations: paypal.me/JoseM151
Jose- I will continue to keep you and your kiddo in my prayers. Thank you for sharing what’s happening in Peru. Racial or tribal or political tensions are good things to keep in mind if we are considering moving to another country.
Thanks you. This was never a bilateral decision. I was forced to come here or I would lose my son´s custody. He´s all I´ve got. I couldn´t just leave him behind. I would never have chosen a Spanish speaking country. All of them seem to be inoculated with the same socialist virus.
This is coming to the U.S. sooner rather than later. Right now the racial minority groups are in an uneasy truce based on their perceived common enemy, White people, but as we are seeing with the spike in black attacks on Asians, that fragile alliance of convenience is starting to fray. When it comes apart? Things are going to get spicy.
I grew up in Oakland & the same group in Cokeland – Dark Skins are the perpetrators just like in Shitcago, New York Shitty, Hiami, Newjerk, Shitsagin, St. Pouis, Shatlanta, etc & No their Lives Do Not Matter.
Be safe bro. I can be latino but I´m not dark enough…so, for predatory eyes I can be considered as whitey as Brad Pitt.
Totally unfair, isn´t it?
Star Parker, founder of CURE, had billboards put up around some cities that are most infected with poverty, which are mostly Black. All they featured was a picture of a girl with a backpack and the simple statement that poverty could be avoided if the parents of a child married, if students completed high school, if parents waited until after high school to be parents. These were proven statistics, I remind you. The local government had all of the billboards torn down because they were considered “offensive.”
All lives matter. As much as I can see the problem that some members of darker-skinned demographics cause, I can also see the value in the minorities within their groups who would do much better if they could separate themselves from the more violent and stupid factions of their race. I’m actually trying to start a bit of a movement, in that regard. Being Black and conservative, I’m in danger in all of those areas for speaking my views (imagine anyone walking through the Baltimore City ‘hood and declaring aloud that they voted for Trump, or that their current struggles are their own fault!).
What the leftist government has done to Black communities, it now wants to do to everyone. We were the test subjects. Those of us who escaped the Democrat plantation were silenced long before YouTube and other social media giants even existed. Stable, happy and normal Blacks can be found all over the country! We’re just shut down whenever we try to talk about solutions.
You commit an injustice to your Authors by breaking-up their articles with an intolerable amount of ads that break up into tiny – interrupted snippets their information. You need to find a less invasive way to include that ton of ads.
Try an ad blocker.
They are great.
I dont see any of the things you complain about (this is what? Your second time complaining?).
Only takes less than a minute to install a ad blocker on Fire Fox.
Yo Dean
are you using a mobile device? I quit trying to read content on this site on my mobile phone. I go online with a desktop pm and I find that the ads are on the right side of an elongated desktop monitor and do not interfere with my reading pleasure….
maybe a desktop or laptop could work better for you.
Maybe you could just scroll on by and ignore the ads since this is no doubt the meat of their income. If you enjoy the content of the article it seems the ads would be a very small thing to tolerate. At least they are not popover ads that distract from the entire page. You are not having to pay to read, it is free to you. Maybe you could be a little more considerate of that fact?
Dear Dean,
I know how annoying the ads can be, but I don´t believe the owner has too much control about it. I didn´t notice not even one single ad! I am sure it´s more related to your Internet Service Provider. I receive constantly YouTube commercials related to the infamous political propaganda in Peru. Go figure.
The video is ”viral” but you won’t post it?
https://www.the-sun.com/news/us-news/2361337/hunt-missing-teen-tiktok-clip-him-thrown-off-bridge/
I´m VERY sorry Matt.
But I will have at some point to travel with my kid. I can´t give motifs to anyone to be aggressive. Sure I´m not a poor weak peewee, but no real reason to post it.
One thing that popped into my head is the difference in North America and South America. North America can be divided into Canada and the US. The two countries are further divided into Provinces in Canada, and States in the US. But the States and Provinces still hold to a Federal system of Governance. Central and South America lack that. There is no singular authority that governs the people as well as the intercourse between the countries that compose the regions vs the European Union which oversees most of Western Europe.
In South America, each country has its own laws and methods of enforcing them. But the divides between Venezuelans, Peruvians, Brazilians, and other countries are deep and cultural. They’re also individual governments that are often at odds with their neighbors.
I point this out, because I believe the roots of the problems South America is experiencing, is because of a lack of commonality between the countries in governance, and this trickles down into the residency. Some countries being ran by a relatively benign democratically leaders, while others are being ran by dictators.
Until South Americans demand equality and representation across the whole of the continent, it will remain the class/ racial discriminatory Left overs of the Imperialism from previous centuries.
As for migration, I’ve no problem with someone wanting to come to the US for better opportunities, but there is a path to citizenship, and that path should not be dismissed or avoided.
The path to citizenship should be legal. I’d argue that the US/Canada should work with the SA countries to try & help them build government systems “for the people & by the people” The US because of its constitution is the only country in the world that is not a top down governing system (though recent events has flipped that).
I’d argue that the SA counties should be left alone to run themselves as they see fit. They don’t need white saviors coming in to “help them build government systems”. Their country – their business. Clean up your own yard before you worry about others.
Boo Radley,
You got it wrong.
I recommend you to do a good research between the cooperation with NK and South America.
Or the advance of the Islam in my country.
Spain is an enemy to the USA and have been for decades to some degree. But it seems a concept too unreal to assimilate.
Actually Clandr has it wrong. An outsider cannot build a system ‘for the people and by the people’ and force it on another country. It never works. The US no longer has a democratic free society itself. We are falling apart and our government is failing. The politicos think the answer is totalitarianism. The USA is quickly becoming similar to Venezuela. It is going to get much worse before it gets better.
The politicians believing the answer is totalitarian gov, are NOT politicians. Are the undercover agents of the NW0. There is an alliance with Crime, Inc, and this 0rder is going to be imposed assisted by ThugCorp. That´s my take.
Sounds like jumping from one fire into another. I will keep you and yours in prayer
Thanks you very much. I know you will. Really appreciated.
Some day my kid will read this, and will be thankful.
the history is completely irrelevant. those of one tribe hate those of other another tribe not because of this event or that action, but because they are of another tribe. that’s it. there is no other reason. that’s what tribal warfare is all about, in the past and today. for some, tribal warfare defines their entire religion even now.
Is there a special rock you live under that you could sell to the rest of us? “The history is completely irrelevant” has got to be the most asinine thing you have written, either under this handle or as gman. The history is relevant- people do group themselves in common geographic areas and develop shared values and accepted norms. These are what most of us call “society” or “community”. Tribe is another word for this, although typically a sub-component of the overall society. Not the point- the point is “otherness”, either intended or imposed. Intended otherness would be the identification of nationality- Peruvian v Bolivian v Venezuelan. Intended marks an individual as being from “away”, foreign, and does inherently create skepticism if not incivility in the response from the locals. Imposed otherness- Hutu v Tutsi in Rwanda, for example. Or the entire caste system in India. All of us are foreign to someone else, even in our own towns sometimes. The salient points of the article are that it takes so little for something to escalate if tensions are already heightened from other factors. Beyond Jose’s personal safety (which I pray he can preserve, and for that of his child), this article is relevant to precisely what we are seeing in America now. BLM and Antifa actively hunting down and harassing people on even the rumors of unthought. People having their livelihoods canceled because they are “other”. This is not farfetched, and it is not even far away. And this history you deride is filled with these examples. We are simply living the most recent.
“These are what most of us call “society” or “community”. Tribe is another word for this”
no, it’s not.
“BLM and Antifa actively hunting down and harassing people on even the rumors of unthought”
the “unthoughts” are just an excuse. the goal is tribal. observe how the tribal members (in the case of antifa, the lackeys of the tribe) do not hold themselves or each other to the same standards as their targets. the targets bleat about the “hypocrisy” but that’s because they don’t understand what is going on.
“got to be the most asinine thing you have written”
it does bust a few bubbles. yes.
You obviously have some degree of comprehension. That was the exact point of the article.
And and7, dude…maybe not look relevant to you. But once you take a walk to your underage child by a neighborhood known by drive-by shootings maybe you will get the feeling. And please make the kid wear your bullet proof vest, just in case.
“But once you take a walk to your underage child by a neighborhood known by drive-by shootings maybe you will get the feeling. And please make the kid wear your bullet proof vest, just in case.”
because I point out that the real issue is tribal, you think I’m oblivious to the danger?
Mostly because you are a fool that ignores the lessons of history. Life is not black and white, it has grey tones.
Couple of things. One if the marriage broke up like this it wasn’t really a marriage. Your pants shouldn’t fall off just because you saw something shiny.
Secondly any large influx of immigrants into ANY country causes tensions and issues. The start of America was deeply divided and violent with racial, country and religious divides. Even here now Mexican and other immigration causes issues.
I saw the Turks in Germany and the issues there. Now it’s muslims all across Europe.
The Balkans were no different with Albania and others.
You unfortunately have found yourself on the wrong end. I searched for the video but also found numerous incidents involving your countrymen violently robbing and causing the issues.
This highlights the need to go in the opposite direction of the hoards when it starts.
I wish you the best of luck and hope things settle out.
Dear Matt, you´re right (as usual). I would just clarify that common criminals that HAPPEN to be born in the same country I did, are going crazy with crime.
I hate feeling like this.
Thanks for the real world account of what is going on in Venezuela & Peru. You & yours are in my prayers.
I pray daily for the conversion of the whole world. If the whole world followed God’s will the ethnic hatred, violence, greed (money, power prestige virus) would be eliminated. But I am a realist. I know that I have to stay alert, have situation awareness to protect myself, my family & my community.
Thanks to you.
I have been a silent prayer man since a long time ago now. Day after day I find wonderful people that is added to that list I pray silently for.
I am feeling many readers almost like good acquaintances, and some have even become friends. I just hope to be able to stretch everyone´s hands one day.
The Bible spoke of these end times and one of them was ethnic and tribal conflicts rooting it ugly head. It will get worse when the commies will try to FORCE you to live with them.
Of course, this is part of the plan to keep themselves in power. They know deep inside you don’t really get along as proven at baseball games, football games, the tribes go to their own to watch.
The tribes don’t intermingle.
Hello José, I’m Hispanic as well so I understand a bit your plight even though I haven’t fled my country (yet). I will keep you and your son in my prayers. That being said, I think what’s happening is understandable. Perú (and most of the economies in the region, some more than others) are to a great extent CLOSED SOCIALIST LEANING ECONOMIES. The more socialist and closed the economy is, the poorer their citizens are. Their labor markets are closed, opening a start-up in the region either as a local or as a foreigner is a hassle, in many places near impossible, our economies are controlled by oligopolies and only corrupt corporations can operate there. You can check my assertions in the economic liberty index or even in the Doing Business ranking. Our region has been steadily on decline for many years. Under that circumstances, NO COUNTRY in the region can accept one million immigrants and remain unscathed, especially since the arrival of so many people at the same time will depress the wages for vast swathes of the local employable population given the nature of our systems and stress its already collapsed infrastructure. Colombia could easily take a few million Venezuelans and barely notice it given the size of the country and its population…if it were an open and thriving country, but we know that’s not the case. Peru, unlike Venezuela during its heyday, is not a prosperous country and cannot cope with millions of immigrants, doesn’t have the wherewithal to do so. That’s the unfortunate reality.
I pray that you can escape that country since the lockdowns have literally destroyed the economy of most of the region and Peru was one of the places where the hammer fell the hardest. In those circumstances, the people will not be open to “strangers” from other provinces that will “rob them from their jobs”, let alone foreigners. People will be looking for easy scapegoats. It’s a perilous situation I’m afraid. I will pray for you.
By the way, I don’t think the immigration was the reason behind the rise of soulless politicians. That’s a phenomena observed since the Great Hispanic Civil War (aka “Independence Wars) since most of the “libertadores” were themselves soulless politicians who betrayed their own to advance their own ambitions. Their is a fellow countryman of yours, who wrote about this topic extensively, describing the difference between the independence movements of US and what happened in Hispanic America, but I digress
Good luck and Godspeed.