Qualla: Tienditas Bridge

Tienditas Bridge: Introduction

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit EEIM, CC BY-SA 4.0. Three bridges, side by side, span the Tachira River between Colombia and Venezuela. Two carry three lanes of traffic each. The third is for pedestrians. Together they form the Tienditas International Bridge, the fifth crossing between the two nations, completed in February 2016 at a cost of $32 million split equally between the two governments. For seven years after its completion, not a single vehicle legally crossed it. The bridge that was supposed to strengthen a border instead became the most visible symbol of its collapse.

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Image: EEIM | CC BY-SA 4.0

Tienditas Bridge: Built for a Future That Stalled

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit EEIM, CC BY-SA 4.0. Construction began on January 24, 2014, with a planned timeline of twenty months. The design was ambitious: three parallel structures stretching approximately 280 meters each across the Tachira River, connecting Tachira state in Venezuela with Norte de Santander in Colombia. Immi...

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Image: EEIM | CC BY-SA 4.0

Tienditas Bridge: Containers on the Span

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit EEIM, CC BY-SA 4.0. In February 2019, the bridge became the focal point of an international standoff. Opposition leader Juan Guaido, recognized as interim president by dozens of countries, organized shipments of humanitarian aid to be delivered through the Tienditas crossing from Colombia. President...

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Image: EEIM | CC BY-SA 4.0

Tienditas Bridge: The Aid Push and Its Fallout

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit EEIM, CC BY-SA 4.0. On February 23, 2019, a coalition of countries attempted to deliver humanitarian aid to Venezuela by land and sea. At the Colombia-Venezuela border, the caravans were met with tear gas and rubber bullets from Venezuelan security forces. The aid did not get through. The confrontat...

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Image: EEIM | CC BY-SA 4.0

Tienditas Bridge: Seven Years to a First Crossing

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit EEIM, CC BY-SA 4.0. The political landscape shifted when Colombian president Gustavo Petro took office in August 2022 and moved to normalize relations with Venezuela. On January 1, 2023, the Tienditas Bridge, now officially named the Atanasio Girardot International Bridge, was finally inaugurated. V...

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Image: EEIM | CC BY-SA 4.0