The city then came to be governed by the corregimiento of Tunja until 1607, when it became itself a corregimiento of the Audiencia of Santa Fe. On June 24 Maldonado moved Mérida to its present location on the plateau and rechristened it as Santiago de los Caballeros.
Rodríguez Suárez's foundation had not been authorized by the New Granadian Authorities, so in 1560 they sent Juan de Maldonado to arrest Juan Rodríguez and regularize the new city.
Nevertheless, in November 1559, Juan de Maldonado moved the settlement to nearby El Punto (presently the Zumba area), because of constant confrontations with the native neighbours. The first settlement of Mérida was not the current one but 30 kilometres (19 miles) to the south, in Xamú, where today stands Lagunillas.
Mérida was founded by Juan Rodríguez Suárez on Octoin one of the Pamplonian mining expeditions he led. As background on the horizon rises the country's highest summit: the Pico Bolívar with an altitude of 4,981 metres (16,342 feet). The town of Mérida is located at an altitude of 1,600 metres (5,200 feet). This city sits on a plateau nestled in the valley of the Chama River, which runs from end to end. The mass transit system ( Trolebús Mérida) is available as a means of tourist transport. It is the largest student and tourist center of western Venezuela. It also has the highest and longest cable car in the world. It is home to the University of Los Andes and the Archdiocese of Mérida. The city accounts for 28% of the total population of Mérida State, which has more than 750,000 inhabitants (Census 2001). The capital city's population is 204,879 inhabitants, and the metropolitan area, that includes the municipality of Libertador, reaches 345,489 people (Census 2001). It was founded in 1558 by Captain Juan Rodríguez Suárez, forming part of Nueva Granada, but later became part of the Captaincy General of Venezuela and played an active role in the War of Independence.
Mérida, officially known as Santiago de los Caballeros de Mérida, is the capital of the municipality of Libertador and the state of Mérida, and is one of the main cities of the Venezuelan Andes.
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