What are the "trails", border crossings where thousands of Venezuelans are defying death to escape the Maduro regime

The daily picture of the border bridges between Colombia and Venezuela, where thousands of people cross with bags, bags and bags towing the border between the two countries, they moved to the "trails", illegal corridors normally used by criminals.

US authorities closed last Sunday the borders of the Colombian department of Norte de Santander, whose capital is Cúcuta, to badess the damage caused by Saturday's riots, as they were trying to bring humanitarian aid to the country. oil country.

Near the Simón Bolívar International Bridge, which connects Cúcuta to the Venezuelan San Antonio del Táchira, citizens of both countries have found an illegal way of easing the closure of crossing points and entering Venezuelan territory, without knowing what to do. They would find. other side.

The land is one of the routes to borrow from Colombia, like most of them. In its own way, there are holes covered with planks or concrete blocks to facilitate the pbadage of people who have more difficulty walking or who can not walk.

Among the undergrowth, this "trocha" opens, in the shelter of the sun and a temperature of over 30 degrees Celsius, through which Venezuelans pbad, as c & # 39; is usually the case with Simón Bolívar, where 35,000 people cross daily to get food and medicine in Cucuta.

One of them is the Venezuelan Maria Alice, who lives in San Antonio del Táchira and who went to Colombia to buy food. "We live things from Colombia and obviously the closing of the bridge also affects us in this way, to go here to buy food," said the woman to Efe after entering Colombia.

To do this, he had to pbad over stones that float over the Táchira River., which divides the two countries, to avoid getting wet. As explained Maria Alice, the Venezuelan side has no problem starting, even if she does not know what time she will return home. "I imagine that I will come back from where I come from," he added.

To cross the river, whose channel is under the drought of recent days, some prefer the fast road and put a part of their body to the water to reach the Colombian coast, where are stalls of informal sellers who offer them drinks and food.

However, not everyone can come back to try to come back later. Some, like the Venezuelan Jessica González, who claims to have found a job in Cúcuta and is going to settle in Colombia to "remake" her life, does not intend to return, at least for the moment, in his country.

"I have walked the trail, with a lot of uncertainty, a lot of worries and a lot of things that we wonder about, this is the first time I'm on the road because the bridge is closed, I have my ID from here but it's not worth it there ", told Efe González, who comes from Maracay, capital of Aragua state (north).

Members of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) also defected through these paths. some with dogs, who are escorted by Colombian soldiers to the applause of those on the road.

However, not everyone dares to cross the "trails" because they feel that they are very dangerous because there are groups dedicated to drug trafficking and smuggling.

Some of them are stationed in a makeshift shelter in front of the binational Tienditas bridge, where over 600 tons of humanitarian aid are stored for Venezuela.

Most of them are asking journalists not to record videos or take pictures for fear of retaliation by the Nicolás Maduro government when they return to their country.

This is the case of Emilia, who decided not to give her real name out of fear and badured Efe that in Cúcuta, they had received the support of businessmen, NGOs and the town hall to eat well and sleep well.

"Many people have decided to return to the" trail. "This morning, women who had children or who were desperate to return home decided to cross the border along the river, on foot, in search of risks even though many told them that they did not do it, "he explained.

That is why many are still waiting for the reopening of the border and the decision of the international community to decide whether to continue to fight for help in their country or to return home to face the crisis.