Over 60 nations pledged more than $3.4 billion in emergency financial support Tuesday for Venezuelan refugees who have fled the country amid a political, economic and humanitarian crisis. Under President Nicolas Madura, Venezuela has seen violent protests as the country has descended into chaos due to inflation, low wages, a deteriorating health care system and worsening public services.

“The plight of Venezuelan refugees and migrants has worsened even further,” U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi told a conference that was broadcast on YouTube. “The impact of COVID-19 is dramatic for countries across Latin America and the Caribbean and has pushed the Venezuelans living there into a spiral of poverty and despair.”

The coronavirus has negatively impacted Venezuelan refugees living in neighboring countries, such as Colombia. Many Venezuelan refugees live in crowded border areas where the virus can be spread. Lockdown policies also hurt the financial situation of Venezuelan refugees, as many of them work in the informal economy in their host countries. Some Venezuelan refugees are now contemplating returning home amid the coronavirus crisis.

Venezuelans fleeing their country are likely searching for a better life abroad. An estimated 7 million Venezuelans are in need of humanitarian aid, as the country deals with high food prices and rampant disease. Access to water is often limited, with electricity blackouts a common occurrence. Crime is prevalent in many areas, with the country experiencing 16,506 murders in 2019 alone.

Venezuela, an oil-rich country with a population of about 30 million, has been marred by political turmoil in recent years. In January 2019, Maduro took office for his second term after winning the May 2018 election. The opposition-majority National Assembly disputed the results and called Maduro a “usurper” of the presidency. In response, the National Assembly named Juan Guaido as the acting president of Venezuela, resulting in a political crisis.

Most Western and Latin American countries have backed Guaido as Venezuela’s leader, while Russia, China, Turkey, Iran and some other nations have supported Maduro. Maduro has claimed the crisis is a “coup d’etat” engineered by Western powers to depose him and take Venezuela’s oil.

Maduro took office in 2013 after the death of Hugo Chavez. Chavez served as president from 1999 to 2013, with the country experiencing democratic backsliding and a declining economy under his reign.

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