The Mexican Ministry of the Interior Thursday announced new rules requiring all Venezuelan nationals to secure a visa before entering Mexico as temporary visitors. This replaces older rules that allowed certain Venezuelan visitors to enter Mexico without a visa.

The announcement, published in the Mexican Official Gazette of the Federation, cited legal authorities, including the Migration Law, the Organic Law of the Federal Public Administration, and the various Internal Regulations of the Ministry of the Interior, all of which empower the Interior Minister to establish or suppress requirements for entry of foreigners into Mexico.

The Mexican government claims that the new rules are necessary due to an increase in Venezuelan migration of more than one thousand percent when compared to levels five years ago, as well as an increase in Venezuelans making false statements about their intentions in Mexico, which often are secretly to engage in “irregular transit to a third country” instead of visiting for business or pleasure.

While not directly stated in the new rules, the “third country” can be presumed to be the United States, which has made dramatic changes to migration policy on the Mexican border in recent years in response to increased numbers of Central American migrants.

The new regulations come into effect within 15 calendar days of publication in the Official Gazette.