Maicao is a city and municipality in the Department of La Guajira, northern Republic of Colombia. It is located 76 km from Riohacha, the capital of the department and is the second largest urban center near the border with Venezuela, after the city of Cúcuta. 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.