Desert Tribe Faces Hardship as Venezuela Fights Smuggling

Less than two days after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro closed this lonely border outpost on the northern tip of South America, the eight-member Apochana family emerged from the dusty scrubland and shuffled up to a group of Colombian soldiers. The travelers were dripping sweat but dressed impeccably in black-and-white linen robes to attend a relative's funeral on the other side of the border. Cecilia Apochana, the matriarch of the Wayuu family, complained that promises tribe members would be able to move freely between the two countries despite the closure haven't rung true. "We've been walking an hour along a trail and have had to pay several people to let us get this far," said Apochana. Although never stopped by authorities, the extra time and effort to circumvent the closure still burns. "This is our land and there should not be a border, much less that it be closed." More…