Arauca Terminal closed due to Venezuelan Migrants

The decision to close the transport terminal was made by the authorities in Arauca, this Tuesday, January 26 in the afternoon, because, they explained, many migrants from Venezuela have arrived, despite the fact that the border is closed, between Apure and Arauca.

The doors of this terminal were closed, while hundreds of Venezuelans are on the outskirts of the state, lying in the meadow waiting for a go-ahead to continue their journey.

The local authorities assure that the measure to close the border is not being complied with and that migrants cannot be controlled. The obligatory passage for travelers is through the Arauca River, through different sectors where there is no presence of the public force and Migration Colombia.

The local administration denounced that, even in social networks offer the trip without any type of control by the authority. The problem has been worsening despite border measures and, the health authorities denounce, the possible contagion of covid due to the lack of biosecurity measures.

Apparently the problem has worsened because the migrants are leaving en masse due to the quarantine decreed in Venezuela, of 7 X 7, as reported by local media.

According to the UNHCR, by 2020, Colombia is the country that has received the greatest migration shock from Venezuela compared to the rest of the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

According to Migration Colombia In 2015, fewer than 200,000 migrants were observed, and subsequently, there was an accelerated growth in the number of migrants, reaching 1.6-1.8 million in the third quarter of 2019. However, in March 2020 there was a slowdown due to the pandemic generated by Covid-19.

Due to lack of opportunities and the quarantine imposed by the Covid in Venezuela, Migración Colombia calculated that 80% of the people who returned to Venezuela will return to the country.

As reported by Caracol Radio, through the river where they cross the border “there is no presence of public forces and Colombian Migration”, and in the steps where controls were located “The authorities are profiting”.

The station said that there are people who have the money to pay for their travel ticket, but that legal and pirated transporters take advantage of the situation to raise costs: they charge up to “30 dollars” to transport them from Venezuela to Arauca and charge an additional cost of $ 280,000 to transport them to Medellín or Bogotá.

In addition, to the migration problem that has worsened in the last two years, the authorities are concerned that many of the migrants do not comply with the minimum security measures, such as the use of masks.

Colombia will maintain the closure of its land and river borders until next March 1 to prevent a further spread of the coronavirus in the country due to the second wave of coronavirus that the country’s ICUs have high occupation.

But there are still exceptions in force such as humanitarian emergencies, cargo transportation, cases of force majeure and the departure of foreign citizens in coordination with the immigration authority.