Trujillo

Trujillo, city, capital of Trujillo estado (state), northwestern Venezuela. The city lies on a northern outlier of the Cordillera de Mérida, 2,640 feet (805 m) above sea level.

Founded in 1556, Trujillo was the site of the 1813 proclamation by the liberator Simón Bolívar, which promised a “fight to the death” for independence from Spain. In colonial times a thriving way station between Táchira and Mérida, it has been outstripped in size and commercial importance by Valera, which lies 12 miles (19 km) to the west-southwest. Trujillo is a market centre for a fertile agricultural region in which cacao, corn (maize), coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, and fruit are cultivated. Flour mills traditionally have been important components of the city’s industries. The Pan-American Highway passes near the city. Pop. (2001) 34,479; (2011) 35,227.