June 2020. Out of work, broke and left with few good options during the pandemic, a growing number of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia have set up a makeshift camp on a tree-covered patch along a highway outside the capital of Bogotá. Aside from 160 tents they’ve built out of black plastic and ropes, they have no running water, bathrooms or electricity. They survive on the charity of neighbors who bring food. The migrants are crowded with up to six in each tent and no way to easily wash their hands, creating the potential for the new coronavirus to spread, although residents said they haven’t yet experienced any illness. “We’re living in a nightmare,” said Cecilio Zagarra, an organizer and one of hundreds in the camp. “We don’t know when it will end.” In the last two weeks, Colombian authorities slowed the number of Venezuelan migrants being allowed to travel to the border city of Cucutá from 400 a day by more than a quarter. They say Venezuelan authorities are only allowing Venezuelans to cross three days each week at what’s normally a bustling border crossing.
Jun 2020. Venezuelans Stranded in Colombia
