Tibú is a municipality and town of

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

located in the department of

Norte de Santander Norte de Santander (Spanish for Northern Santander) () is a department of northeastern Colombia. It is in the north of the country, bordering Venezuela. Its capital is Cúcuta, one of the country's major cities. Norte de Santander is bordere ...

, in the northeast of the country, on the border with

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

and on the banks of the Tibú River. It is the 160th most populated town of Colombia, and the 6th in the department after

Cúcuta Cúcuta (), officially San José de Cúcuta, is a Colombian municipality, capital of the department of Norte de Santander and nucleus of the Metropolitan Area of Cúcuta. The city is located in the homonymous valley, at the foot of the East ...

, Ocaña, Villa del Rosario, Los Patios and

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

. It has an airport, and is connected by national road with Cúcuta, Ocaña and El Tarra.

History

The area of present-day Tibú was originally inhabited by the

Barí people The Motilones-Barí, sometimes also called Barís, Motilones (or for its singular: Motilón) or Dobocubis, are an Indigenous people who live in the Catatumbo River basin in Norte de Santander Department in Colombia in South America and who speak ...

. Oil companies established a camp when they first arrived in the area in 1945. On March 8, 1945, the

Council of Cúcuta A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nation ...

approved the creation of the

corregimiento ''Corregimiento'' (; , ) is a Spanish term used for country subdivisions for royal administrative purposes, ensuring districts were under crown control as opposed to local elites. A ''corregimiento'' was usually headed by a '' corregidor''. The ...

of Tibu. The Catholic Church also established the San Luis Beltran Mission and later on May 25, 1952, established the parish. The church greatly contributed to the development of the village by designing the first streets and distributing lots for the first houses and the cathedral. It was erected municipality later on January 1, 1977, in the midst of the jungle of the Catatumbo Region an almost human inhospitable land between Colombian and

. The town and municipalities were severely hit by the

Colombian Civil War (1960s–present) The Colombian conflict () began on May 27, 1964, and is a low-intensity conflict, low-intensity Asymmetric warfare, asymmetric war between the government of Colombia, far-right Right-wing paramilitarism in Colombia, paramilitary groups, Illegal ...

. The area has been a constant dispute between government forces, the guerrillas of the

FARC The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army (, FARC–EP or FARC) was a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict starting in 1964. The FARC-EP was officially founded in 1966 from peasan ...

and ELN and

paramilitary groups A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

. On June 16, 1996 AUC members perpetrated the Gabarra Massacre while struggling for control of the area with insurgents.

Geography

The municipality of Tibú borders to the east with the

Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, to the south with the municipalities of

and

Sardinata Sardinata () is a Colombian municipality and town located in the department of Norte de Santander Norte de Santander (Spanish for Northern Santander) () is a department of northeastern Colombia. It is in the north of the country, bordering ...

, to the west with El Tarra and

San Calixto San Calixto () is a Colombian municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to whic ...

and to the northwest with

Teorama Teorama is a Colombian municipality located in the department of North Santander. Climate References *Government of Norte de Santander - Teorama Municipalities of the Norte de Santander Department {{NortedeSantander-geo-stub ...

Climate

References

External links

Tibú official website
Municipalities of the Norte de Santander Department {{NortedeSantander-geo-stub