He was a soldier in the company of Georg von Speyer, who passed through the south of present-day Venezuela and the eastern part of what is today known as Colombia.

In the eighteenth century, being expelled from the Jesuits under Viceroy Pedro Mesia de la Zerda, the Augustinian Recollect succeeded in their mission of evangelization.

By decree 113 of January 20, 1955, the territory was elevated to the national quartermaster, and finally, with the Constitution of July 5, 1991, Arauca became a department.

The Colombian census does not collect data on race and ethnicity, but compiled population estimates of the five groupings are: There are small numbers of descendants of European immigrants: the Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian, French, British, Dutch, Polish, Greek and Arab (i.e. Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian) nationalities.

They are located in the northeastern foothills of the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, until the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy in Boyacá.

The main economical activity of Arauca is centered around the oil industry, with the Caño Limón oilfields as the most important source.

The soils of the region have shown good conditions for growing cacao, bananas, cassava, rice, corn and fruit trees, as well as industrial crops such as African palmtree, sorghum, soybeans and sesame.

Amazonas Antioquia Arauca Atlántico Bolívar Boyacá Caldas Caquetá Casanare Cauca Cesar Chocó Córdoba Cundinamarca Guainía Guaviare Huila La Guajira Magdalena Meta Nariño N. Santander Putumayo Quindío Risaralda San Andrés Santander Sucre Tolima Valle del Cauca Vaupés Vichada