The Rosario de Perijá Municipality is located in Zulia

Zulia

Zulia State is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. In June 30, 2010, it had an estimated population of 3,821,068, giving it the largest population among Venezuela's states. It is located in the northwestern part of the country...

, Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

. It was founded in 1989. The municipality has a total surface of 3543 km² and it has some 67 712 inhabitant (2001 census). Its capital is Villa del Rosario. The municipality is made of three civil parishes: Donaldo García (7.489 inhab.), El Rosario (53.953 inhab.) and Sixto Zambrano (6.270 inhab.).

The local economy is based primarily on cattle raising. There is also an important exploitation of limestone for the cement industry.

Population

The majority of the population is made up of average mixed-race Venezuelans, but there are native American communities in the Western and Northern parts: Yukpa

Yukpa

Yukpa is an Amerindian ethnic group that inhabits the northeastern part of the Cesar Department in northern Colombia by the Serrania del Perija bordering Venezuela. Their territory covers the eastern areas of the municipalities of Robles La Paz, Codazzi and Becerril in Resguardos named Socorpa,...

 and Wayuu

Wayuu

Wayuu is an Amerindian ethnic group of the La Guajira Peninsula in northern Colombia and northwest Venezuela. They are part of the Maipurean language family.- Geography :...

 Indians. There is also a small community of Japrería Indians.

There has been a serious conflict for several decades between the native American population and the cattle ranchers for the use of the lands.

Politics

Colombian media announced on 17 July 2010 that FARC had a camp in this area. The Venezuelan government denied it.