21st Century Colombia-Venezuela Border Relations

Immigration from Venezuela

Migrants flee political unrest in Venezuela in droves and search for work, opportunity in Colombia.

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Photo Credit: Foreign Policy

Members of the Ernesto Che Guevara front, belonging to the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas, shoot during a training in the jungle, in Choco department in Colombia, on May 26, 2019 – The ELN or National Liberation Army is Colombia’s last rebel army and one of the oldest guerrillas in Latin America. (Photo by Raul ARBOLEDA / AFP) (Photo credit should read RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP/Getty Images)

Non-state actors at the border

Colombian paramilitaries and drug traffickers wield tremendous power in this area

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Recent Border Closures

In recent years the border has been closed for various reasons.

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Photo Credit: CBC

COVID-19 Impact on the Border

Colombia has closed its border with Venezuela due to the pandemic, which has a ricochet effect across many aspects of life.

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Venezuelan migrants walk along a road leading out of Bogota, Colombia [Manuel Rueda/Al Jazeera]

Bibliography

Arbolada, Raul (AFP/Getty Images). National Liberation Army Guerrillas Train in the Jungles of Colombia on May 26. October 7, 2019. Photograph. https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/07/maduro-is-playing-a-dangerous-game-on-the-colombian-border/.

Estupinan, Edinson (AFP/Getty Images). An Aerial View of the Tienditas Bridge, on the Border between Cucuta, Colombia, and Pedro Maria Urena, Venezuela, after Venezuelan Military Forces Buttressed an Existing Blockade on the Bridge with Containers and a Tanker Trailer on February 6. the Multi-Lane Bridge Was Completed in 2016 but Never Put into Use as Tensions Escalated between the Two Countries. February 15, 2019. Photograph. https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/venezuela-bridge-aid-pompeo-1.5018432.

Mendoza, Schneyder (AFP/Getty Images). Venezuelans Line up to Cross into Cúcuta, Colombia, on June 8. October 25, 2019. Photograph. https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/25/dont-let-venezuelas-crisis-take-down-colombia-too-refugees/.

Rueda, Manuel (Al Jazeera). Venezuelan Migrants Walk along a Road Leading out of Bogota, Colombia. April 6, 2020. Photograph. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/left-venezuelans-head-home-coronavirus-pandemic-200406113000807.html.