Migrant Trail
Indigenous survival is being tested on both sides of the Venezuelan border.
Since 2015, over seven million Venezuelans have fled the collapse of their country. This constant flow along the Migrant Trail crosses the ancestral territories of the Wayúu and Yukpa people in La Guajira and the Serranía del Perijá. In a landscape already defined by water scarcity, this mass displacement converges with decades of land dispossession by extractive industries and escalating violence.
The Venezuelan crisis has severely impacted Indigenous autonomy on both sides of the border. The Wayúu and Yukpa now face the encroachment of mining companies, a lack of health services, and critical food insecurity.
Thousands are forced to move in and out of their lands, relying on family networks of care to defend their culture amidst drought and state neglect.
Climate change and the lack of drinking water have intensified this struggle. Despite the pressure from industrial interests and a hostile environment, these communities remain determined to protect their territory and way of life.
The Migrant Trail stands as a raw record of resistance in a region where industry and politics consistently ignore human dignity.
