Colombia recorded 56,072 irregular migrants in transit between January and July 2026: these are the nationalities and routes of those who entered

Between January and July 2026, Colombia recorded 56,072 irregular migratory transits through the national territory — the lowest figure in this period since 2023, according to the records of Migración Colombia—.

The issue of irregular and illegal migration was brought to public attention after a security council in Barranquilla where President Abelardo De La Espriella ordered Migración Colombia and the Police to start operations to identify and deport migrants in irregular situations, prioritizing those who commit crimes.

Something that a day later, the Interior Minister Rodrigo Lara clarified to specify that the operations will target criminal networks profiting from human trafficking and smuggling.

The Data Unit of EL TIEMPO analyzed the figures of irregular migratory flow in transit recorded between January 2023 and July 2026 in the country. According to the data, during that period, a total of 1,153,365 movements were recorded. Of these, 73.7 percent of those who transited the country irregularly came from Venezuela.

So far this year, the month with the most records was January, with 10,277 cases. However, the number decreased until closing July with 4,134.

According to the figures recorded by the entity, in 2023, the first year with reports from Migración Colombia, 539,959 cases of irregular transit through the country were counted. The following year, the figure dropped to 400,612, a 26 percent reduction. In 2025, 156,722 cases were recorded, 61 percent less than in 2024.

Comparing the months from January to July of the annual series, the record indicates that in 2023 a total of 248,198 people transited the country irregularly. For the same period the following year, it was 261,975 people, six percent more.

In 2025, the flow of irregular transit dropped to 99,829 (62 percent less than the previous year). And during this year, 56,072 irregular transit migrants were recorded in the seven months. That is, between 2023 and 2026 the phenomenon reduced by 77 percent.

Of the 1,153,365 irregular migratory movements recorded in the national territory between 2023 and 2026, 849,981 records corresponded to people of Venezuelan nationality (73.7 percent). The other two main origins were Ecuador, which contributed 85,702 cases (7.4 percent) and Haiti, with 77,556 (6.7 percent). The three countries accounted for 88 percent of the entire flow.

The fourth most frequent country of origin is China, with 45,091 records. Followed by India, with 11,087; Vietnam, with 7,978; Afghanistan, with 7,559; Bangladesh, with 6,885; Chile, with 6,348; and Nepal, with 6,134.

According to the entity’s data, people of 151 different nationalities passed irregularly through Colombia during the analyzed period.

The passage of migrants is also concentrated in few points. Between 2023 and July 2026, 97 percent of the records were located in two sections of the Colombian border. The main one was the border with Venezuela, through which 634,762 cases (55 percent of the total) were recorded. Next was the border with Ecuador, with 487,066 cases (42.2 percent).

The border with Panama, through the Darién jungle, added 25,561 cases (2.2 percent). Additionally, airports recorded 4,964 cases and the border with Brazil, 882.

Among the adult population that transited through Colombia during the period, the majority were men, with 696,001 records (60.3 percent) and 457,364 were women (39.7 percent).

SABRINA BASTIDAS IGUARÁN

DATA UNIT