The city was founded on June 27, 1927 by Colonel Rodolfo Morales and Tomás Curvelo Iguarán, on behalf of the Department of Magdalena in the middle of the Wayuu people territory.

Maicao was officially founded on June 27, 1927 by Colonel Rodolfo Morales and Tomás Curvelo Iguarán, on behalf of the Department of Magdalena in the middle of the Wayuu people territory.

[7] The indigenous Wayuu managed contraband trading routes through Maicao arriving from Aruba, Curaçao, Venezuela and other Caribbean Sea territories mostly coffee, alcohol, tobacco and weapons among other taxable articles.

[9] The migrants settled in the center of Maicao, where one of them, José Abuchaibe of Palestinian origin, built the largest building in the municipality, which is the Hotel Don Juan.

The marijuana bonanza in the outskirts of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains also introduced another factor to the culture of the region.

Opulence in certain urban areas became notable, including a Ferraris collection by Lafaurie-González clan (Eduardo, Iván and Fernando Lafaurie-Gonzalez) and their bunker style houses in Maicao and Riohacha.

The situation worsened due to the deflation of the Venezuelan economy and the trade decrease, as well as crackdowns on contraband by the Colombian government.

[13] Hezbollah cells based within Maicao have used drug trafficking and contraband networks to launder funds that were later used to finance terrorist operations worldwide.

The municipality of Maicao lost a large area over the coal mine section decreasing the royalties percentage intended for the region.

[12][15] Ninety percent of Maicao's economy depends on commerce and the rest is mainly in the service sector, in addition to a small percentage in the manufacturing industry.

[10] One of the products grown in Maicao is Ahuyama, better known as Cucurbita moschata, this vegetable is processed into flour from this municipality and marketed in European countries.

[18] Maicao has several tourist sites such as the Monumento a la Identidad, a sculpture made by Cartagena artist Alfredo Tatis Benzo, this monument is also known as "El Abuelo de las Barbas del Maíz" (lit.