Cúcuta, the little Venezuela in Colombia: a border of guerrillas and migrants

Cúcuta (Colombia)At Cecilia's ranch, they couldn't celebrate lavishly due to their precarious economic situation, but the family certainly didn't lack the desire to toast with the best bottle in the house. From her window, she can almost tell what's happening in Venezuela, since it's only a few kilometers away, but one day she had to pack her bags to look for a better life. "I arrived five years ago," she explains to ARA, happy to have a horizon for her future. Because, now that Nicolás Maduro is no longer in powerShe and her family plan to return to Trujillo, from where they had to flee due to the dire circumstances. "I ate panela with water, and we cooked green papaya for the children," she explains, describing their situation. A declining macroeconomic situation, hyperinflation, and shortages of food and medicine drove millions of Venezuelans into exile. And the collapse of Maduro's Venezuela has been felt most acutely in areas like Cúcuta. According to data from the regional government of Norte de Santander in 2021, the Colombian city hosted up to 10% of the Venezuelans who remained in Colombia. Regarding the total number of exiles worldwide, the Venezuelan Diaspora Observatory reported that up to 9.1 million people had left the country. Cecilia chose to settle in Colombia, despite dreaming of returning someday. “They offered me a thousand dollars, but we never sold the house we have there,” he says. It’s probably a better place than the area where he lives right now. In the La Esperanza neighborhood, the informal settlement known to everyone by the name of the country in front of them, Venezuela, took shape. Small plots of land made of brick for the lucky ones and corrugated iron for those who couldn’t afford thicker walls.

This little Venezuela emerged seven years ago, with the exodus of 2018Thousands of people arrived with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Little by little, the newcomers from the neighboring country built homes thanks to the concession—or good faith—of the owner of a mountain that has now become a new neighborhood. Carabobo, Valencia, Trujillo, or Mérida: this unofficial neighborhood in Venezuela represents the most precarious map of those who had to flee when hunger was a daily reality in Maduro's Venezuela. But the area is a mountain where the night whispers stories that no one wants to speak aloud. "It's better to stay locked up at home," says Cecilia.

Dangerous Border

Part of that diaspora has had no choice but to cross a border that could be a minefield. The Cúcuta Valley is a territory with a presence of several armed groups, such as FARC dissidents, the National Liberation Army (ELN), and the Tren de Aragua. And the latter, in recent years, has gained a strong presence on the border to finance itself through the illegal trafficking of goods. In 2021, the group began a power struggle with the ELN and won. Therefore, the unofficial border crossing known as La Parada, in the Las Margaritas neighborhood, is controlled by the criminal organization. According to a report by the Organized Crime and Corruption Information Project, the Tren de Aragua "imposed its firepower and managed to establish itself in the area as the ultimate controller of the illegal economy."gauge, This type of border crossing, known as a smuggling route, is one of many, and activity is constant in the vicinity of the Táchira River. But silence pervades every place.

It's not difficult to spot groups of men who allegedly work for the group or are directly part of it. For its part, the Colombian Attorney General's Office has already identified several murders linked to the criminal organization. In an area where the lines are blurred, crossing to the other side of the street can mean being in the wrong place, controlled by the Tren de Aragua or the ELN. That's why a pedestrian crossing a muddy path points out that the bank 50 meters away is off-limits to him: "I can't go there. If you do, it's your responsibility."

Everyone knows who owns thetrails.Several Intelligence investigations indicate that the Tren de Aragua gang has exploited the presence of Venezuelan migrants and border routes to extort money, including from migrants in transit through Cúcuta. Cecilia and her family once lived in the millions, but now that Venezuela is changing hands, she's certain she'll return. Holding and stroking a black cat, she makes it clear: "He'll come with us too; we won't leave any of our animals on the street."