In Northwestern South America (NWSA) the geodetic data show a consistent northeastward displacement of blocks, while the geological record shows a predominant shortening in NW-SE direction suggesting a clear pattern of strain partitioning. This type of deformation has been extensively studied in the context of two convergent plates. However, in NWSA this is complicated by the interaction of multiple tectonic elements, including the Caribbean and Farallon/Nazca plates and the accretion of the Panama-Choco Arc. In this study we integrate the plate convergence evolution with multiple lines of evidence in the geological record, to propose a tectonic reconstruction that accounts for the deformation distribution during the Cenozoic. Our results indicate that deformation was not spatially homogeneous nor did it occur continuously during the Cenozoic. The main drivers of these variations were variations of convergence obliquity of the involved plates, the presence of heterogeneous lithospheric strength zones, changes in the geometry of the subducting slabs and the transition from subduction to collisional tectonics of the Panama-Choco Arc against NWSA. The obtained relative motion of blocks reproduces a strain evolution that is consistent with the different episodes of deformation reported in the literature. The model is additionally supported by the reconstructed velocity and strain vectors, which have a good match with equivalent indicators of the recent deformation in NWSA. Furthermore, the integration of the proposed palinspastic model with existing paleoenvironmental models, allowed us to construct restored paleogeographic maps that agree well with the deformation and exhumation history of the Northern Andes.

The interaction of the northern Nazca and southwestern Caribbean oceanic plates with South America, and the collision of the Panama-Choco arc have significant implications on the evolution of the northern Andes. We integrate an alternative interpretation of the Nazca and Caribbean kinematics with the magmatic and deformation history in the region. The northeastward migration of the Caribbean plate caused a progressive change in the geometry of the subducting Farallon plate, causing flat-slab subduction throughout the late Eocene-late Oligocene, inhibition of magmatism and eastward migration of the Andean deformation. Meanwhile, the Paleocene-Eocene highly oblique convergence of the Caribbean plate against South America changed by the mid-Eocene, when the Caribbean plate began to migrate in an easterly direction. These events and the late Oligocene breakup of the Farallon plate, prompted a Miocene plate reorganization, with further plate fragmentation, changes in convergence obliquity, steepening of the subducting slabs and renewal of magmatism. This tectonics was complicated by the accretion of the Panama-Choco arc to South America, which was characterized by early Miocene subduction erosion of the forearc and trench advance, followed by breakoff of the subducting slab east of Panama and collisional tectonics from the middle Miocene. By 9 Ma the Coiba and Malpelo microplates were attached to the Nazca plate, resulting in an abrupt change in convergence directions, that correlates with the main pulse of Andean orogeny. During the late Pliocene, the Nazca slab broke, triggering the modern volcanism south of 5.5º N. Seismicity data and tomography support the proposed reconstruction.