Borders and Borderlands: Venezuelan Migrants in Colombia A Crisis of Displacement, Resilience, and Shared Humanity.
The Colombia-Venezuela border, spanning 2,219 kilometers, is a stark symbol of Latin America’s intertwined crises. Once a region of fluid exchange, it has become a crucible of human suffering and geopolitical tension. Over 7.7 million Venezuelans have fled their homeland since 2015, escaping hyperinflation, authoritarian repression, and collapsed public services. Colombia, itself grappling with a legacy of armed conflict, now hosts nearly 3 million Venezuelans a testament to both solidarity and systemic strain. This essay argues that while borders reflect power imbalances and exclusion, they also hold potential as sites of transformative cooperation. By examining migration drivers particular at Paraguaipoa Venezuela border. Colombia’s ambivalent policies, and persistent human rights gaps underscore the urgency of reimagining borders as spaces of dignity and shared futures.
Furthermore, the Colombia - Venezuela border, a volatile and dynamic frontier in Latin America, has become a focal point of bidirectional migration flows shaped by intertwined crises in both nations. Historically, Colombia’s decades-long armed conflict, drug trafficking, and internal displacement drove over 1.5 million Colombians to seek refuge in Venezuela during its oil-boom era. However, after 2015, this pattern reversed dramatically as Venezuela’s economic collapse marked by hyperinflation, food shortages, and authoritarian repression under Maduro’s regime sparked an exodus of over 4 million Venezuelans by 2019, with Colombia hosting nearly 1.5 million. Migrants include both Venezuelans fleeing despair and Colombians returning due to xenophobia and economic hardship in Venezuela, many facing exploitation, inadequate documentation, and limited access to essential services. The border region, plagued by weak governance and armed groups like ELN and FARC dissidents, exacerbates vulnerabilities such as trafficking, sexual violence, and displacement. Colombia’s humanitarian efforts, including the 2021 Temporary Protection Status (TPS), offer temporary relief but underscore systemic gaps in addressing root causes like inequality and political instability. This crisis highlights the urgent need for regional cooperation to transform borders from zones of exclusion into spaces of solidarity, ensuring protection and dignity for all displaced populations.
A brief description of the geopolitical situation on the Venezuela side of the border
In addition to, The Colombian side of the border is marked by fragmented governance and the dominance of armed actors, including guerrillas (e.g., ELN), paramilitaries, and criminal gangs, which exploit porous borders to traffic drugs, weapons, and people while establishing parallel power structures that undermine state authority. These groups increasingly operate across the border into Venezuela, with the ELN reportedly active in 12 Venezuelan states, exacerbating regional instability. On the Venezuelan side, economic collapse driven by hyperinflation (projected at 1,000,000% in 2018), a 50% GDP contraction since 2014, and systemic corruption has triggered a humanitarian crisis, mass migration, and social unrest. The oil sector’s collapse, foreign debt default, and destroyed purchasing power have forced millions to flee to Colombia and beyond, while Venezuela’s inability to address basic needs or control its territory has allowed Colombian armed groups to expand their influence. Together, these dynamics create a volatile borderland defined by illicit economies, displaced populations, and intertwined crises of governance and survival. In the case, the Paraguaipoa Border Venezuela on 21 May 2012, the revolutionary Armed Forced of Colombia FARC attacked the Colombian army near the remote Majayura Village across the border and then escaped to Venezuela Guana Village afterward they killed twelve Colombians soldiers and four injured. That was one of the examples of crime borders. On the other hand, the social, economic and political conditions in Venezuela have caused a humanitarian crisis, which is seen not only in the massive exodus that began in 2015 but also in the increase in social protests. 1
Human Rights Challenges for Venezuelan Migrants in Colombia
Colombia’s human rights protections for migrants remain paradoxical, constrained by institutional fragility, ineffective policies, and non-compliance with international treaties. Despite democratic principles, systemic gaps such as limited access to healthcare, education, and legal documentation leave Venezuelan migrants, particularly children, Indigenous communities, and irregular crossers, exposed to exploitation and violence. Organizations like JRS-COL 2 and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights have highlighted risks tied to border crossings, urging reforms to address humanitarian needs and uphold dignity. Territorial instability and weak enforcement further exacerbate vulnerabilities, underscoring the urgent need for rights-based migration policies to transform structural failures into actionable protections.
Political Tensions and Diplomatic Breakdown: Venezuela and Colombia’s Escalating Rivalry 2015-2019
“Our diplomatic relationship is over between Venezuela and Colombia; we are not neighbor anymore’ ’President Nicolas Maduro. El Tiempo, 17 December 2015.
Relations deteriorated still further with the election of conservative Iván Duque as Colombian president in June 2018, with the new government proclaiming its support for “a diplomatic siege” of Venezuela to speed the restoration of democracy. Then, in early 2019, National Assembly chair Juan Guaidó staked his claim to the interim presidency of Venezuela, to full throated U.S. and Colombian cheers. On 23 February 2019, Maduro broke off ties with Bogotá in retaliation for Guaidó’s plan to bring humanitarian aid across the border from Colombia.
1 Bermudez (2017) says that this scenario forces Venezuela to depend on financial support from China and Russia. Thus, it is unlikely that the economic crisis will affect other countries within the region. recovery would depend on the Government´s modification of its blockade, sanction policies, as well as its economic policy.
2 Servicio jesuita a refugiados Colombia. JRS-COL
Conclusion
The Colombia-Venezuela border crisis epitomizes the devastating intersection of political rivalry, humanitarian collapse, and systemic neglect. Once a symbol of regional solidarity, this 2,219-kilometer frontier has become a battleground of survival, where millions flee hyperinflation, violence, and repression, only to confront exploitation, xenophobia, and institutional failure. The diplomatic rupture between Caracas and Bogotá exemplified by Maduro’s 2015 declaration, Duque’s “diplomatic siege,” and the 2019 aid standoff has deepened suffering, leaving migrants and border communities trapped in cycles of vulnerability.Regional Cooperation: Establish a multilateral task force under UN/OAS oversight to coordinate humanitarian aid, combat cross-border trafficking networks, and mediate dialogue between Colombia and Venezuela.
Root Causes: Address Venezuela’s economic collapse through debt relief and international sanctions conditioned on democratic reforms, while Colombia must tackle inequality and rural neglect fueling internal displacement.
Rights-Based Migration Policies: Expand Colombia’s Temporary Protection Status (TPS) to include transit migrants, streamline documentation processes, and enforce labor rights to prevent exploitation.
Security Collaboration: Jointly dismantle armed groups like ELN and FARC dissidents through intelligence-sharing and demilitarizing border zones, prioritizing community-led peacebuilding.
Humanitarian Corridors: Create safe passages with NGO partnerships to protect women, children, and Indigenous migrants from trafficking and violence, ensuring access to healthcare and education.
Accountability: Empower international courts (e.g., Inter-American Court of Human Rights) to investigate abuses, sanction state and non-state actors enabling violence, and monitor compliance with refugee treaties.
The border’s transformation from a zone of crisis to one of dignity hinges on rejecting isolationism and embracing shared responsibility. As Venezuelan poet Rafael Cadenas wrote, “A country is not its borders, but its people.” Only by centering humanity over hostility can these fractured nations rebuild trust and forge a future where borders symbolize hope, not despair. The time for solidarity is now before more lives are lost to indifference.
Sauddy Barros Galvis
[giugno 2025]
Sauddy Barros Galvis ha un Master’s degree in International Cooperation presso l’Università di Bologna, Campus di Ravenna e si occupa di human right protection.