Displaced and Queer: These Venezuelans find community despite the obstacles

For more than a year, Venezuelans have been making the dangerous trek to the United States through the Darién Gap, in unprecedented numbers. However, the United States was not the first destination for Venezuelans fleeing their country's instability. Due to the ongoing socio-political crisis (including hyperinflation, censorship and violence) in Venezuela, nearly 7 million people have left the country in the past decade. Displaced, often moving numerous times across Latin America, Venezuelans have been met with hostility and a lack of jobs. Being queer in the region only complicates that reality.

Colombia has been the de facto country for Venezuelans to emigrate to since the beginning of the crisis. Geographically close and culturally similar, it makes sense. About 2.5 million Venezuelans now live in Colombia.

But recently, cities like Medellín have become a stopover as people plan their route to the United States, rather than a final destination. Medellín is a bustling cultural and technological hub of Colombia, investing in transportation, infrastructure and the arts while promoting progressive and inclusive rhetoric that transformed it into a destination for digital nomads and queer tourists.