August 2025
Issue brief Enhancing US-Colombia coordination on Venezuela policy How the US and Colombia can promote regional stability and pursue national interests without legitimizing Nicolás Maduro’s regime An issue brief informed by the Atlantic Council’s US-Colombia Advisory Group With Lucie Kneip and Geoff Ramsey
Bottom lines up front •
While the United States seeks to prevent more migration from Venezuela, the strain of hosting 2.8 million Venezuelan migrants and refugees is putting Colombia on the back foot in its fight against transnational criminal groups.
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Bilateral efforts to improve security cooperation, reduce irregular migration sustainably, and improve opportunities for Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Colombia can benefit both countries.
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Colombia must balance between asserting regional leadership in managing the Venezuelan crisis—which requires a clear strategy—and keeping a communication channel open without legitimating Nicolas Maduro’s rule.
As Venezuela’s crisis has worsened, it has dramatically impacted migration and security in Colombia. Around eight million Venezuelans (one-quarter of the population) have fled the country in the past decade.1 Colombia has received far more than any other country, hosting over 2.8 million Venezuelans as of November 2024. (See Figure 1.)2
ATLANTIC COUNCIL
Under the government of President Iván Duque, Colombia adopted policies to integrate fleeing Venezuelans and widen their access to regular status. In 2021, the government granted Venezuelan nationals access to regularized status, work authorization, and public services for ten years. The program reached 473,000 Venezuelans in its first year and formalized a process for tracking
1.
Lucie Kneip, “Amid Rising Insecurity in Venezuela, the US and Its Partners Must Prepare for a New Wave of Migration,” Atlantic Council, August 20, 2024, https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/amid-rising-insecurity-in-venezuela-the-us-and-its-partnersmust-prepare-for-a-new-wave-of-migration/.
2.
“Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela,” R4V, May 2025, https://www.r4v.info/en/refugeeandmigrants.
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