Story and photosby JOSH FRIEDMAN.Special to the Western Standard.VENEZUELA-COLOMBIAN BORDER – Venezuelans are navigating poverty, paramilitaries and flooding along the “closed” border here..They are called “las trochas.” Las trochas can be translated as the trails. More contextually, they are illicit trails — illegal border crossings between Venezuela and Colombia..Amid a months-long closure of formal Venezuelan-Colombian border crossings due to coronavirus measures, Venezuelans rely on trails and paths they forge to pass, or wade, through the border-straddling Tachira River and to cross into Colombia. The demand for food, medicine and basic supplies in Colombia is too high to stop crisis-stricken Venezuelans from crossing back and forth, locals say. .During a visit late November to La Parada, Colombia, the Western Standard toured several trochas with a Colombian police escort. Hundreds of Venezuelans could be seen crossing the border, using the trochas to go back and forth.. La-Playita-CrossingLa Playita Crossing .Within the trochas, one can find river-crossings, thick shrubbery, trash and livestock. In addition to many Venezuelans walking back and forth — some carrying backpacks or hauling large items — one can also spot Colombian police, Venezuelan guardsmen and armed men whose affiliation is not always clear. .In the “Trocha La Marranera,” or the Pigsty Trocha, a Venezuelan man who lives in the border region said he had just crossed into Colombia to buy rice, chicken and wheat and corn flour. It is common for Venezuelans to cross into Colombia to shop for groceries. In prior interviews, Venezuelans crossing the border said food is available in Venezuela, but only certain items like rice, beans and yuca, are affordable for the masses. .On the Colombian side, National Police officers stand and watch as Venezuelans cross in and out of Colombia along the illicit routes. Sometimes the Venezuelans and Colombian police greet or say hello to one another. .An officer said Colombian police do not know who’s crossing the border because there exists no treaty between Colombia and Venezuela on identifying the people using the trochas. Colombian authorities do not have access to background checks on individuals crossing back and forth and do not know if they have ever served time in prison, the officer said..To Colombia’s National Police, the Venezuelans entering Colombia illegally to buy food and household items are of lesser concern than the paramilitary groups operating along the border and vying for territory. While walking along the Tachira River in no man’s land between Colombia and Venezuela, the Western Standard spotted a small group of men carrying guns and lurking behind dense greenery across the water on the Venezuelan side. It was not clear whether they were Venezuelan forces or paramilitaries..Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal group, has been trying to take control of a sprawling trocha called “Los Mangos,” or The Mangos, a National Police officer said while escorting the Western Standard through the area. Tren de Aragua is said to have penetrated the border and spread its operations into Colombia. Police are gathering intelligence and trying to arrest members of the criminal group, the officer said.. Los-MangosLos Mangos .At one point, while walking through Los Mangos Trocha, an officer warned it was not safe to walk farther. Paramilitary members had previously targeted journalists in the area and had stolen or attempted to steal their cameras, the officer said. .On the other side of the Simon Bolivar International Bridge, at the entrance to the “Trocha La Playita”, or The Beach Trocha, there was talk of another type of paramilitary operating in the area. Members of a colectivo were said to be demanding payment from anyone seeking to cross the border. The colectivo was reportedly charging each person about the equivalent of a quarter of a United States dollar in order to cross..Colectivos are groups of armed men who are loyal to Venezuela’s socialist government. Described by some observers as a gang and by others as paramilitary forces, colectivos are renowned inside of Venezuela. They are known for providing community services, but also for drug trafficking, robbery, murder and targeting political opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Their impact can be felt across the Tachira River in La Parada, a Colombian border community largely inhabited by impoverished Venezuelans. .Jenifer Barrios, a Venezuelan woman living in La Parada, said her child is growing up without a father due to how his involvement in a colectivo ended. .“He was part of the colectivo,” Barrios said. “He was doing bad business with some bad guys, so he got killed.”.Barrios left Venezuela due to its poor economy and lack of food, she said. Her life does not appear to have improved dramatically since settling on the Colombian side of the border. .In La Parada, Barrios is obliged to work as a prostitute because she needs to feed her baby, she said. Barrios must accept whatever the man wants to give her. If a man comes with 20,000 Colombian pesos — less than $6 — she must accept it. .“This is not the right place to have a daughter,” Barrios said. “There are always fights between different gangsters or groups.”.Yet, Venezuelans keep coming to Colombia — most for short visits, others for the long-term or in transit to a new country. At the onset of the coronavirus lockdown in the region, numerous Venezuelans returned to their home country. But in recent months, many have departed Venezuela again.. Fenced-off-Simon-Bolivar-bridgeClosed border crossing .In late 2019, when formal crossings were still open, United Nations refugee agency officials stationed at the border estimated 40,000 Venezuelans were entering Colombia daily, with most of them turning around and heading back into Venezuela later the same day. Some Venezuelans choose to live in Colombia, where they have quasi-legal status. Others immigrate to different countries in the region, some even doing so by foot. Known locally as “the walkers,” these Venezuelan migrants say they cannot afford bus tickets and have no choice but to walk to other cities in Colombia or even to neighboring South American countries..For the Venezuelans crossing back and forth, the elements can also prove challenging. The weather is hot and, at times, wet. When heavy rain occurs, there can be flooding, and crossing the Tachira River can become unmanageable. .On November 18, hundreds or more Venezuelans stormed the Simon Bolivar bridge after heavy rain flooded the Tachira River and the trochas. Many Venezuelans had crossed into Colombia to make purchases and needed to return to Venezuela. They stormed the entrance to the border bridge, burst through fencing and overwhelmed the handful of Colombian police officers who were present. With some carrying large items or babies, the border hoppers rushed back into Venezuela. . Storming-the-bridge-1Storming the bridge .Colombian police later said the Venezuelans were permitted to cross the bridge on humanitarian grounds. Despite the presence of a river, armed criminals, paramilitaries and Colombian and Venezuelan forces, it seems little can be done to stop the crisis in Venezuela from propelling people across the border and back, even in the era of Covid..Friedman is a freelance reporter who covered the war in Azerbaijan and Armenia for the Western Standard
Story and photosby JOSH FRIEDMAN.Special to the Western Standard.VENEZUELA-COLOMBIAN BORDER – Venezuelans are navigating poverty, paramilitaries and flooding along the “closed” border here..They are called “las trochas.” Las trochas can be translated as the trails. More contextually, they are illicit trails — illegal border crossings between Venezuela and Colombia..Amid a months-long closure of formal Venezuelan-Colombian border crossings due to coronavirus measures, Venezuelans rely on trails and paths they forge to pass, or wade, through the border-straddling Tachira River and to cross into Colombia. The demand for food, medicine and basic supplies in Colombia is too high to stop crisis-stricken Venezuelans from crossing back and forth, locals say. .During a visit late November to La Parada, Colombia, the Western Standard toured several trochas with a Colombian police escort. Hundreds of Venezuelans could be seen crossing the border, using the trochas to go back and forth.. La-Playita-CrossingLa Playita Crossing .Within the trochas, one can find river-crossings, thick shrubbery, trash and livestock. In addition to many Venezuelans walking back and forth — some carrying backpacks or hauling large items — one can also spot Colombian police, Venezuelan guardsmen and armed men whose affiliation is not always clear. .In the “Trocha La Marranera,” or the Pigsty Trocha, a Venezuelan man who lives in the border region said he had just crossed into Colombia to buy rice, chicken and wheat and corn flour. It is common for Venezuelans to cross into Colombia to shop for groceries. In prior interviews, Venezuelans crossing the border said food is available in Venezuela, but only certain items like rice, beans and yuca, are affordable for the masses. .On the Colombian side, National Police officers stand and watch as Venezuelans cross in and out of Colombia along the illicit routes. Sometimes the Venezuelans and Colombian police greet or say hello to one another. .An officer said Colombian police do not know who’s crossing the border because there exists no treaty between Colombia and Venezuela on identifying the people using the trochas. Colombian authorities do not have access to background checks on individuals crossing back and forth and do not know if they have ever served time in prison, the officer said..To Colombia’s National Police, the Venezuelans entering Colombia illegally to buy food and household items are of lesser concern than the paramilitary groups operating along the border and vying for territory. While walking along the Tachira River in no man’s land between Colombia and Venezuela, the Western Standard spotted a small group of men carrying guns and lurking behind dense greenery across the water on the Venezuelan side. It was not clear whether they were Venezuelan forces or paramilitaries..Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal group, has been trying to take control of a sprawling trocha called “Los Mangos,” or The Mangos, a National Police officer said while escorting the Western Standard through the area. Tren de Aragua is said to have penetrated the border and spread its operations into Colombia. Police are gathering intelligence and trying to arrest members of the criminal group, the officer said.. Los-MangosLos Mangos .At one point, while walking through Los Mangos Trocha, an officer warned it was not safe to walk farther. Paramilitary members had previously targeted journalists in the area and had stolen or attempted to steal their cameras, the officer said. .On the other side of the Simon Bolivar International Bridge, at the entrance to the “Trocha La Playita”, or The Beach Trocha, there was talk of another type of paramilitary operating in the area. Members of a colectivo were said to be demanding payment from anyone seeking to cross the border. The colectivo was reportedly charging each person about the equivalent of a quarter of a United States dollar in order to cross..Colectivos are groups of armed men who are loyal to Venezuela’s socialist government. Described by some observers as a gang and by others as paramilitary forces, colectivos are renowned inside of Venezuela. They are known for providing community services, but also for drug trafficking, robbery, murder and targeting political opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Their impact can be felt across the Tachira River in La Parada, a Colombian border community largely inhabited by impoverished Venezuelans. .Jenifer Barrios, a Venezuelan woman living in La Parada, said her child is growing up without a father due to how his involvement in a colectivo ended. .“He was part of the colectivo,” Barrios said. “He was doing bad business with some bad guys, so he got killed.”.Barrios left Venezuela due to its poor economy and lack of food, she said. Her life does not appear to have improved dramatically since settling on the Colombian side of the border. .In La Parada, Barrios is obliged to work as a prostitute because she needs to feed her baby, she said. Barrios must accept whatever the man wants to give her. If a man comes with 20,000 Colombian pesos — less than $6 — she must accept it. .“This is not the right place to have a daughter,” Barrios said. “There are always fights between different gangsters or groups.”.Yet, Venezuelans keep coming to Colombia — most for short visits, others for the long-term or in transit to a new country. At the onset of the coronavirus lockdown in the region, numerous Venezuelans returned to their home country. But in recent months, many have departed Venezuela again.. Fenced-off-Simon-Bolivar-bridgeClosed border crossing .In late 2019, when formal crossings were still open, United Nations refugee agency officials stationed at the border estimated 40,000 Venezuelans were entering Colombia daily, with most of them turning around and heading back into Venezuela later the same day. Some Venezuelans choose to live in Colombia, where they have quasi-legal status. Others immigrate to different countries in the region, some even doing so by foot. Known locally as “the walkers,” these Venezuelan migrants say they cannot afford bus tickets and have no choice but to walk to other cities in Colombia or even to neighboring South American countries..For the Venezuelans crossing back and forth, the elements can also prove challenging. The weather is hot and, at times, wet. When heavy rain occurs, there can be flooding, and crossing the Tachira River can become unmanageable. .On November 18, hundreds or more Venezuelans stormed the Simon Bolivar bridge after heavy rain flooded the Tachira River and the trochas. Many Venezuelans had crossed into Colombia to make purchases and needed to return to Venezuela. They stormed the entrance to the border bridge, burst through fencing and overwhelmed the handful of Colombian police officers who were present. With some carrying large items or babies, the border hoppers rushed back into Venezuela. . Storming-the-bridge-1Storming the bridge .Colombian police later said the Venezuelans were permitted to cross the bridge on humanitarian grounds. Despite the presence of a river, armed criminals, paramilitaries and Colombian and Venezuelan forces, it seems little can be done to stop the crisis in Venezuela from propelling people across the border and back, even in the era of Covid..Friedman is a freelance reporter who covered the war in Azerbaijan and Armenia for the Western Standard
