What drove Venezuelan migrants to New York? Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blames US sanctions

Scores of Venezuelan migrants have found their way to American cities like New York, and according to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, sanctions on their homeland's regime are to blame for it. On Sunday, the Congresswoman sat down for an interview with CBS's 'Face the Nation'. 

She said that the influx of migrants across the United States stems from acts like sanctions and Venezuela's leadership at large.“US sanctions that were originally authored by Marco Rubio … certainly took a large part in the driving of populations to our southern border,” she said, referring to the Republican senator from Florida. 

She noted that the recent spike in border crossings occurred “shortly after those broad-based sanctions were enacted.” The 33-year-old went on to blame Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, stating that he is “absolutely” responsible for the migrant crisis that the US is grappling with at the moment. 

Why did the US sanction Maduro? 

Maduro, who represents Venezuela's United Socialist Party, first led the country in 2013 and has since been at the forefront of a devastating economic downfall, including hyperinflation. His special forces have also carried out thousands of extrajudicial killings, as per the United Nations. 

In the wake of this, the US introduced sanctions as a penalty for human rights abuses across Venezuela. While many support the move, Ocasio-Cortez believes it is finally time to go over the measures again. “I think we need to reexamine the nature of the sanctions,” she said.

Since 2022, over 110,000 migrants have arrived in New York City and have since occupied homeless shelters and several other sites. As the number continues to grow and the city's services become overburdened, Mayor Eric Adams has called out for help from the Biden administration. 

Last week, US President Joe Biden made a pit stop in Manhattan for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) but did not meet Adams to tackle the issue. On a countrywide level, authorities have reported more than 2.86 million border encounters with migrants during this fiscal year, which ends on September 30.