for whoever doesn’t have 5 minutes for humanity.

Immigration policy has been a hot topic with attention paid to the US-Mexico border. However, you cannot overlook emigration when you are talking about immigration. The Colombian-Panama border is home to the Darién Gap, where thousands end up seeking passage to a better life.

On November 3, 2023, the International Crisis Group released a report, Bottleneck of the Americas: Crime and Migration in the Darién Gap. It is a +20 minute read, but this story is worth summarizing for the people who only have 5 minutes.

If you only have 60 seconds, the Crisis Group did a great job summarizing some of the key points with a single graphic 👇

We encourage you to read the whole report as we will be referencing much of this report throughout this article because: 

the darién gap. 

This notorious strip of land between Colombia and Panama is where hundreds of thousands migrate north from not only Latin America but countries all over the world. From January to July 2023, an estimated 97 different nationalities decided to make the trip through this inhospitable jungle in search of a better life. 

The number 97 came up again in the article as 97% of migrants claimed that Darién was the most dangerous part of their journey. 

The foot traffic from years of migration created trails forming an informal infrastructure in this region of difficult terrain.  

If you are from a country with a 🌏 accepted passport, this may seem strange to you. Why not just take a flight as opposed to walking through kilometres of tropical jungle? 

Well, many countries require a visa to enter and many of these people have little to their name as they are seeking asylum. 

Okay, well why not take a bus? 

Well, there is the Pan-American Highway that stretches across the Americas from the southern tip of Argentina to the northern community of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. The only major gap is about 106km (66 miles) which lies across the border of Colombia and the Darién Province of Panama. 

So there you have it, the Darién Gap.

If you want to see some high-quality footage of the terrain and what migrants go through, CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh recently documented the journey.

However, the lack of infrastructure makes it a great place for the Colombian group, the Gulf Clan (Gaitanistas), to be left alone to conduct their business. 

the gaitanistas.

They have a presence in the global drug trade and control the northwest regions of Colombia. This secluded Darién Gap provides shelter and access to both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts.

With an estimated 9,000 members strong, Colombia and Panamana do not have much influence on this region of land, resulting in the Gulf Clan being the authority figure present. 

They do provide a certain level of security and will impose their will on coyotes (human smugglers) if they get too far out of line with the mistreatment of migrants. But besides playing some role in human trafficking and the drug trade, they also tax businesses in the region, both legitimate and illegitimate ones. 

Migrants claim that the routes on the Colombian side of the border are actually safer than the Panama side. This is because the Gaitanistas ensure there is order on the trails for maximum profitability. In the CNN documentary above, they showed that the Gulf Clan issues out coloured wristbands to travellers to keep track of which day they started and what trail they paid for.

the tollgate to the north.

Through conversations with multiple parties in the region, the Crisis Group estimates that the migrant economy generates millions of dollars a week.

With some conservative back-of-the-napkin math. With an average cost of $160 per migrant and 408,000 in the first 7 months (29 weeks) of 2023, you are looking at $2.25 million dollars a week.

Granted this year experienced an exceptionally high level of migration, but those are still eye-popping numbers.

Also, that is just the cost from Acandí to the Panama border. Every step of the way there are costs.  

Along the journey, the costs accrue. If you can’t pay the toll, expect denied entry or even captivity until paid in full. Payments could be through the confiscation of your cell phone and belongings, forced labour and/or sex work.

As the Gulf Clan may help syndicate the migrant economy, the Panamanian gangs are taking advantage of the constant inflow of people in this secluded region and preying on their vulnerability.  

the dangers of the trail. 

The transit of thousands of people in the cruel tropical jungle overseen by gangs and cartels is a recipe for a lawless place with little to no protection over people’s basic rights. You pay to enter and there is no guarantee you get out alive. 

The path is treacherous with the risk of dehydration, broken bones, and disease.

You are risking your life if you do not listen to the local gangs’ demands. In the CNN documentary, they shared some gruesome footage of corpses that were victims of attacks. Many with no proper burial, just slowly becoming part of the jungle.  

If you arrive or end up penniless from theft or the multiple “tolls”, and especially if you are a woman, your fate is bleak. Assault and being forced into sex work are not uncommon on the trail. 

These risks are not unknown when people start their journey. The sad reality is that a large percentage of migrants are children. One in five migrants are children and adolescents. 

According to the report, almost half of the minors from January to August 2022 were under five years old. So far in 2023, 8-10 minors have arrived at the migrant centres unaccompanied or separated from their parents. 

so what can be done. 

We have yet to talk about the mass exodus of Venezuela and we intend to write a whole article on that issue. More than half of the migrants in 2023 were Venezuelan. This makes sense as countries all over America are experiencing a mass inflow of Venezuelans seeking asylum.

This issue crosses many borders. Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico, the United States, and more. The tougher restrictions on Venezuelans in particular entering countries are resulting in them taking such drastic measures.

To address the issue international cooperation is imperative. But it really is quite the conundrum. 

Why not have a legal migrant pathway? If you build a road and make it more accessible; men, women, and children would not have to expose themselves to the risk of hiking through a jungle run by organized crime and opportunistic local gangs. That will certainly result in an increase in immigration to the US due to a safer and easier path to the US-Mexico border. 

Providing humanitarian support? This should be high on the list, given the fact that so many people including minors are being exposed to such conditions. Basic food, water, healthcare and shelter should be available to migrants. Where there are not such dire consequences if you do not have the money to pay. 

Greater border security measures? Yes, that could work, but there has been a long-standing issue with organized crime in Latin America and encroaching on their territory will almost certainly result in casualties on both sides. 

This is a complex issue that requires a balanced approach to address the humanitarian, security and economic aspects of the migration crisis currently underway in the Darién Gap. People have been passing through this region for decades, but the sheer number of people taking the journey is accelerating as countries around the world experience their own internal issues. 

But what you can do today is share this story and make people aware that this is going on. Honestly, did you hear of the Darién Gap before reading this article?

Make sure to subscribe to impactful veins if you want to get weekly stories like this one.