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Some Venezuelan Refugees Resort to Sex Work in Colombia to Survive

Michael Rummel

   "This is hell," says Gabriela, a Venezuelan refugee working as a
   prostitute in the Colombian border town of Cucuta.

   The 19-year-old traveled 22 hours from La Guaira in Venezuela to work
   in Cucuta. Gabriela was not unaware of the job awaiting her. Like many
   others working in the sex industry in Cucuta, she'd heard about the
   opportunity from others who had already made the perilous journey
   across the border.

   Like many Venezuelans who fled their country, Gabriela says she had
   little choice. The mother of a small child, Gabriela says while living
   in Venezuela, she did "not have the resources for diapers or milk."

   Her work in Cucuta brings her around $30 to $40 a day. The money allows
   her to support herself and her children, something she can no longer do
   in her home country.

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