FRONTIER PROBLEMS
BETWEN COLOMBIA AND
VENEZUELA
Historical background
 The Venezuela-Colombia border negotiations begin immediately after
having consummated the disintegration of the Gran Colombia. Its historical
process goes from the year 1833 to the year 1941. Throughout this process,
was signed a Treaty of friendship, Alliance, Commerce, limits, and
navigation between the Presidents of Venezuela and Colombia. As a result
of the signing of these treaties began to cause problems in the border area
between the two countries, from the demarcation of their lines, since in
these agreements, our country was losing sovereignty which had in
important areas on the peninsula of la Guajira in Zulia and in Táchira. All of
these discrepancies were directed, definitely by the Treaty of limits
between Venezuela and Colombia, signed April 05, 1941.
FRONTIER PROBLEMS BETWEN
COLOMBIA AND VENEZUELA
 In the Colombian city of Cucuta, on the border with Venezuela, it is said
that the closure of the border between the two countries is noticed by
simply looking at the relative solitude of the streets. There are people who
were here and it is not: the Venezuelans who came to buy and sell - many
vendors - and Colombians who are not coming out of the neighboring
country. It is who on the border are used to live between shades of gray.
I.e., one hundred percent on one side, or one hundred percent of the
other. Residents cross from one country to another; they work or eat, taking
advantage of the economic ups and downs of the States whose
boundaries are confused at the border, not - usually - to pay greater
attention to the rules of their Nations.
However with the border treaty signed in the year 1941, in
recent decades have emerged new problems, which can
be classified into three aspects:
 Physical problems: due to the artificiality of the border, as this is not determined in many
places, landforms, but lines established by calculations of latitude and longitude, this is
compounded by the instability of the demarcation line, as in the case of rivers that
constantly altering its course.
 Economic problems: the main is smuggling, that is basically due to the difference of the
purchasing power of the currencies of both countries. The Venezuelan currency has
highest value occurring Colombian, accordingly smuggling from Colombia to Venezuela,
through the depression of the Zulia and the Orinoco River.
 Human order problems: are represented by the division of the guajiro people who move
either in any of the two countries (Colombia and Venezuela) in search of resources for
their subsistence; and undocumented immigrants representing a great inconvenient socio
- economic for the country since their majority they belong to lower social status and
criminals are grouped in general and other undocumented who are working persons,
engaged in agricultural work, domestic services, among others, continue to be a problem
by their condition of undocumented.