About two million Venezuelans have fled their homeland since 2015, one of the largest mass migrations in Latin American history, according to the United Nations. Colombia has borne the brunt, with about one million Venezuelans already living in the country, and more are expected to arrive. Up to four million Venezuelan migrants could be living in the country by 2021. Other countries in South America are also struggling to cope with the migrant influx as the humanitarian crisis deepens. A total of about 2.4 million Venezuelans now live abroad - some 7 percent of the country's population.
Behind Bogota's main bus terminal there is ramshackle cluster of tents and tarps strung between tree trunks is home to about 200 Venezuelans. The informal settlement was barricaded by authorities last month to prevent more migrants setting up camp. Its looming closure leaves migrants with nowhere to go.
"Even if I have nothing here, no job, no money, it's better than Venezuela," said Teran, who like most migrants crossed the border into Colombia with nothing more than what she could carry. "At least here, we can eat. Colombians have shown us a lot of generosity and solidarity and bring us food most days," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "I can't return to Venezuela. There's nothing there."
Cristina Velez, secretary for social services at the mayor's office in Bogota, said, "This is a crisis that's not going to end in two weeks, in three months nor in six months. It's a crisis that's beginning, and one that will last a few years to come ... it's what we have to face and prepare for."
Some camp dwellers will likely join the stream of migrants moving southwards, many on foot, to Peru, Ecuador, and Brazil.
"If we have to move from country to country, we will," said Ronald Pinto, 20, a graphic design graduate who lives with his wife, pregnant with twins, in a donated tent.
Other countries in South America are also struggling to cope with the migrant influx as the humanitarian crisis deepens. A total of about 2.4 million Venezuelans now live abroad - some 7 percent of the country's population.
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