Ended nearly 60 years of border demarcation negotiations between Colombia and Venezuela, formally settling their shared land boundary.
Key Facts
- Date signed
- April 5, 1941
- Signed in
- Villa del Rosario, Norte de Santander, Colombia
- Ratifications exchanged
- September 12, 1941, in Caracas
- Duration of prior negotiations
- Approximately 60 years (1881–1938)
- Venezuelan signatory
- Esteban Gil Borges, Minister of Foreign Relations
- Colombian signatory
- Luis López de Mesa, Minister of Foreign Relations
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following nearly 60 years of unresolved negotiations over the demarcation of the Colombian–Venezuelan land border (1881–1938), both governments sought a definitive agreement to settle outstanding boundary disputes, building on earlier work by the 1901 Demarcation Committee and a Swiss experts committee.
On April 5, 1941, the Ministers of Foreign Relations of Colombia and Venezuela—Luis López de Mesa and Esteban Gil Borges—signed the Border Demarcation Agreement in Villa del Rosario, Colombia, formally acknowledging the full demarcation of the shared border and validating prior demarcation efforts.
The treaty concluded the long border demarcation process, with ratifications exchanged in Caracas on September 12, 1941. Despite the agreement, the Colombian–Venezuelan border has remained a zone of tension due to drug trafficking, smuggling, disease transmission, and the presence of Colombian guerrilla groups.
Political Outcome
Both countries formally recognized the fully demarcated land border, ending decades of boundary disputes and validating prior demarcation committee work.