VENEZUELA'S BORDER PROBLEMS WITH COLOMBIA, BRAZIL AND GUYANA - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

Some of Venezuela's most prominent border problems are smuggling, migration, and land claims from other countries. Venezuela is a country on the American continent, located in the northern (northern) part of South America.

This country has a territorial extension of 916,445 km ^², of which its continental territory limits to the north with the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, to the west with Colombia, to the south with Brazil and to the east with Guyana.

In addition, it has maritime borders with the United States (through Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands), with the Kingdom of the Netherlands through the Dutch Caribbean, the Dominican Republic, France (Martinique and Guadeloupe) and Trinidad and Tobago.

The territory of Venezuela is made up of 23 states, the Capital District and a set of islands that make up the Federal Dependencies of Venezuela. From this division, the states that are part of the land borders of Venezuela are: Zulia, Táchira, Apure, Amazonas, Delta Amacuro and Bolívar.

Venezuela, along with the countries with which it borders on its land borders, has had a series of conflicts or problems throughout its history.

These problems are of diverse nature, encompassing economic problems, such as mining exploitation, smuggling, especially gasoline, and territorial disputes, of which the most notorious is the dispute over Guayana Esequiba.

Problems on the border with Colombia

The Colombian-Venezuelan border is a continuous international border of 2,219 km, which separates the territories of Colombia and Venezuela, with 603 border milestones demarcate the dividing line. This is the largest border that both countries have with any other country.

The most important access points are comprised of two towns in the state of Táchira (Venezuela), Ureña and San Antonio del Táchira with the Colombian city of Cúcuta in the Norte de Santander department; and between Guarero in the state of Zulia (Venezuela) and Maicao in the department of La Guajira (Colombia).

Smuggling

Venezuela is the country with the cheapest gasoline price in the world, with an approximate of $ 0.02 per gallon, which makes the smuggling of gasoline from Venezuela to Colombia by Venezuelans and Colombians conducive.

Currently, the change from bolivars to Colombian pesos is unfavorable, due to inflation and exchange control in Venezuela. Therefore, it is favorable to pass gasoline from Venezuela, with a very low price, and sell it in Colombia, cheaper than in the country's gasoline stations, but more expensive than in Venezuela.

Thus, the smuggling of gasoline on the Venezuela-Colombia border is an illicit activity carried out by both Venezuelans and Colombians, because the exchange and currency disparity and the large difference in the price of gasoline in both countries is favorable for smugglers. of both nationalities.

Migration

The overland crossing between Venezuela and Colombia has been carried out normally for years, generally for the purpose of tourism, visits to relatives between the two countries or the acquisition of products or services that may be cheaper in one of the two border countries.

However, the passage of people between countries through the land border, especially on the border of the state of Táchira (Venezuela) and the department of Norte de Santander (Colombia), has also been for the purpose of emigration, on the part of both countries, according to historical situations.

Venezuela and Colombia have maintained a stable relationship in terms of migration policies, with large numbers of Colombian citizens emigrating to Venezuela, and Venezuelans to Colombia without major restrictions to stay and work in both countries.

Currently, due to the economic and political situation in Venezuela, many Venezuelans have had the need to emigrate, Colombia being a main option for many, especially by land.

But, due to some political tensions between nations, crossing the border has been intermittent, allowing only for certain periods of time.

Problems on the border with Brazil

The delimitation of borders between Venezuela and Brazil began in 1859 with the treaty of limits and river navigation, in which Brazil renounces in favor of Venezuela its possible rights in the basins of the Orinoco and Essequibo rivers, and Venezuela renounces Brazil's favor to all their rights in the basin of the Amazon basin, except for a part of the Negro river.

The border between Venezuela and Brazil has a length of approximately 2,850 km, delimited by border milestones.

The most important road access point is between the towns of Santa Elena de Uairén, in Bolívar state, and Pacaraima, in Roraima state (Brazil).

Smuggling and mining

Although the differences in the price of gasoline between Venezuela and Brazil, as well as the disparities in the exchange of currencies between the two countries are favorable conditions for the smuggling of gasoline, the geographical conditions are not so favorable.

The Bolívar state in Venezuela is one of the states with the greatest inequality in terms of demographic distribution, with an area of ​​242,801 km ^² (26.49% of the national territory), for a population of 1,824,190 inhabitants, in addition to the great distances that they must be traveled by land throughout the state of Bolívar.

Similarly, the city of Pacaraima in Brazil has a population of 12,144 inhabitants, and Boa Vista, capital of the state of Roraima in Brazil, is 250 km from Pacariama, which would make smuggling difficult.

However, there is gasoline smuggling between Venezuela and Brazil, but on a very small scale, unlike that between Brazil and Venezuela.

Mining exploitation

As for mining of character in the border area of ​​Brazil and Venezuela, this is an illicit economic activity that has occurred on the border for years, due to the great mineral wealth, especially the extraction of gold and diamond in Santa Elena de Uairen.

People from Brazil who are engaged in illegal mining are known as Garimpeiros (Word of Portuguese origin).

They practice mining without adequate security measures, and with a high environmental impact, in tropical rainy ecosystems, including the Guayana region and the Amazon in Venezuela.

Problems on the border with Guyana

The border that divides Venezuela from Guyana exercises sovereignty up to Punta de Playa in the Delta Amacuro state (Venezuela), its most northeastern point. However, Venezuela claims a region under the administration of Guyana known as Guayana Esequiba.

Venezuela's claim on Guayana Esequiba

In 1966, Venezuela and the United Kingdom, representing their then British Guiana colony, signed the so-called Geneva Agreement, in the city of Geneva, Switzerland, on February 17, 1966.

In this agreement, Venezuela recognizes the contention of considering null the decision of the court that defined its border with then British Guiana.

Likewise, the United Kingdom recognized the claim and the disagreement of Venezuela, agreeing to seek a satisfactory solution for the parties.

Later in May of the same year, the United Kingdom granted the independence of British Guiana, becoming Guyana, being ratified the Geneva agreement.

Thus, in the political maps of Venezuela, the Guayana Esequiba region appears obliquely striped and / or with the legend of Zone in Claim, without having yet reached a practical agreement, and the Geneva Agreement continues to be in force today.

The claim is submitted to the intermediation of the General Secretariat of the United Nations.

References

1. Borders of Venezuela. (2017, June 6). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Consultation date: 08:53, July 4, 2017 from es.wikipedia.org
2. Geneva Agreement (1966). (2017, May 21). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Consultation date: 08:53, July 4, 2017 from es.wikipedia.org
3. Border between Brazil and Venezuela. (2015, November 16). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Consultation date: 08:53, July 4, 2017 from es.wikipedia.org
4. Venezuela. (2017, July 4). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Consultation date: 08:54, July 4, 2017 from es.wikipedia.org
5. Guyana Esequiba. (2017, June 28). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Consultation date: 08:54, July 4, 2017 from es.wikipedia.org
6. Guyana Esequiba. (2017, June 28). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Consultation date: 08:54, July 4, 2017 from es.wikipedia.org
7. Border between Colombia and Venezuela. (2017, February 8). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Consultation date: 08:54, July 4, 2017 from es.wikipedia.org.