Nearly 8 million Venezuelans have fled the country’s instability in the past decade, many hoping to return after July’s election. Now, as Nicolás Maduro clings to power, they fear for their families – and are braced for another exodus
- Words and photographs by Euan Wallace in Pamplona, Colombia
As the sun rose on the cold morning of Monday 29 July in Pamplona, Colombia, a young Venezuelan man in tattered clothes woke up to the sound of the radio playing in a refugee shelter. A news bulletin was reporting Nicolás Maduro’s victory in Venezuela’s presidential election, while phones flashing with blurry footage were passed from hand to hand showing videos of violent protests circulating on social media.
The 2024 presidential elections in Venezuela have plunged the country into a new phase of political crisis since Maduro, the incumbent president, claimed victory amid widespread allegations of fraud. The leading opposition candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, and his supporters contest the result, which has led to huge protests, including the toppling of statues of former president Hugo Chávez.
The scarred and weather-beaten hands of a refugee in Vanessa’s shelter
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