The districts (Spanish: Distrito) of Colombia are cities that have a feature that highlights them, such as its location and trade, history or tourism.
In addition,Barranquilla, Cartagena and Santa Marta were designated as districts by the original version of the Constitution of 1991.
In July 2007, Congress passed Legislative Act 02, which increased the number of district to 10 with 3 cities and 3 seaports: Cúcuta, Popayán, Tunja, the port were Turbo Antioquia, Uraba in the Pacific port: Buenaventura, Tumaco and Medellín.
However, in 2009, a large part of this act was declared unconstitutional, stripping district status from Cúcuta, Popayán, Tunja and Uraba.
According to Law 1617 of 2013,[1] for the creation of new districts, the following conditions must be met: Districts that have been recognized as such by the Constitution and the law or municipalities that have been declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO are exempt from compliance with these requirements.