Federal Dependencies of Venezuela

The Federal Dependencies of Venezuela represent territorial claims materialized through scattered islands—approximately 600 landforms totaling 342 km² across the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Venezuela. With fewer than 2,200 permanent residents plus seasonal fishers from Margarita Island, these islands function primarily as sovereignty markers and ecosystem reserves rather than population centers.

Los Roques Archipelago anchors the tourism economy: over 350 islands and cays 80km north of the Venezuelan coast, renowned for beaches, clear waters, and marine biodiversity. La Tortuga—Venezuela's second-largest island—remains largely uninhabited. Isla de Aves hosts the Simón Bolívar Scientific-Military Base, staffed since 1978 on elevated pilings, guarded by naval detachment. These varied functions—tourism, fishing, scientific research, military presence—distribute across different island clusters.

Maritime boundaries extend 200 nautical miles from dependency coastlines through treaties with the United States (1978), Netherlands (1978), and France (1983). Six of twelve major islands feature reef formations, including Las Aves Archipelago and Los Roques—among the Caribbean's most significant coral ecosystems. This ecological value underlies both tourism potential and conservation imperative.

The migration crisis affecting Venezuela (7.8 million displaced since 2014) compounds demographic challenges in already-sparse communities. Permanent residents—primarily fishermen and tourism workers in Gran Roque—experienced labor loss straining subsistence activities. The 18% national reduction in working-age population by 2024 disproportionately impacts isolated island economies.

By 2026, the Federal Dependencies' trajectory tests whether tourism can recover alongside national stabilization, or whether depopulation and infrastructure decay leave these islands as empty sovereignty claims.