The newspaper La Nación, on a tour of the border, noted an increase in the migratory flow from Táchira to Colombian territory; many without stamping their passports
Text: Jonathan Maldonado / The Nation
Although not at the level of a “migratory wave”, the border has experienced a greater flow of Venezuelan migrants in recent days, via the bridges that connect Táchira with Norte de Santander.
Fieldwork carried out by La Nación’s reporting team at the Simón Bolívar international bridge from Monday, August 26 to Saturday, August 30, reflects an increase in the transit of migrants.
Many people are leaving the country without stamping their passports, either because they have expired or because they have never processed it through the Administrative Service for Identification, Migration and Immigration (Saime). Obtaining a passport for the first time or renewing it is expensive for most people.
At the luggage inspection point at the main customs office in San Antonio, a high flow of travelers crossing the Colombian-Venezuelan border by taxi is observed daily. “There has been a greater presence of this group of citizens in recent days,” said an official consulted by the La Nación reporting team.
*Read also: Increase in migratory movements reported on the Táchira border with Colombia
Efigenia left the country on Friday, August 30. She did so via the Simón Bolívar international bridge in the midst of a national blackout that also affected the dynamics at the border. “I’m migrating to Peru, where one of my sons is. My oldest daughter is in the United States,” she said in conversation with La Nación.
The sixty-year-old was brief when it came to explaining why she was leaving. She only said: “The situation in the country cannot take any more.” Efigenia was going by bus from Norte de Santander to Peru with the respective stopovers. “My children will cover all the expenses,” she said after her luggage was checked at customs. The woman got back into the car and continued her journey to the neighboring country, Colombia.
The passport stamping point in San Antonio del Táchira has also seen a slight increase in users, which intensified with the system going down due to the blackout. Since then, the queues have become more noticeable.
Around the trails, although traffic on these irregular routes has rapidly decreased after the reopening of the international bridges, there are small groups, especially those who migrate with minors without proper documents, who use these roads to jump to Colombia.
Many people who leave for Táchira embark at La Parada.
“Advisors” have indicated that, since La Parada, in Colombia, the number of Venezuelan travelers seeking to migrate from this point on the border has grown.
“After the presidential elections, there has been an increase that is not comparable to that of previous years (2018-2019), but it has been on the rise” compared to the first half of 2024, they noted.
The most common route is the one that takes them, on several stops, to the border between Colombia and Panama to cross the dangerous Darien jungle, and then continue on to Mexico to jump to the United States, in search of the “American dream.”
Recently, authorities in Norte de Santander have expressed concern about the possibility of another “migratory wave” from Venezuela. They have recommended increased controls at border points.
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