The 7th and final stage was won by the Italian Andrea Bagioli.
On the Olympic hill of Montjuic, Higuita controlled the attacks of his rivals.
He finished at the same time as Carapaz, his runner-up (16 seconds) and companion, on Saturday, in a long breakaway of some 120 kilometers which had allowed him to take control of the race.
"I was tired after yesterday's stage, I knew it would be tough," commented the Colombian from the Bora team.
"I expected attacks and they happened."
Higuita especially watched Carapaz who forced the pace on the penultimate ascent of Montjuic, on the final circuit to be covered six times.
But the reigning Olympic champion could not cause the decision, nor the Norwegian Tobias Johannessen, the most legged among the riders in the general classification.
In the sprint, Bagioli, back on the leading group before the last kilometer, won over Hungarian Attila Valter.
The Italian (23) signed the second success of the week for the Quick-Step team, two days after the sprint victory of Briton Ethan Vernon.
"We finish tired because the whole week has been hard but it was a good week", appreciated Higuita at the end of a race marked by the cardiorespiratory arrest of the European champion, the Italian Sonny Colbrelli, at the arrival of the first stage last Monday.
At 24, Higuita won his first WorldTour stage race, his second success of the season after a stage of the Tour of Algarve in February in Portugal.
The young Colombian, the second rider from his country to appear on the list after Nairo Quintana, had asserted himself in his first season at the highest level.
In 2019, he took second place in the Tour of California (behind Tadej Pogacar) before winning a Vuelta stage.
© 2022 AFP