#darien gap

[mapsontheweb]

Migration routes through the Darién Gap

[thoughtlessarse]

The Biden administration has signed an agreement with the new president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, to block migrants from crossing the infamous Darien jungle on the border with Colombia and organize deportations from the Central American country. US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central America Eric Jacobstein explained to reporters last week that deportation flights from Panama would begin “in the coming weeks.” Washington is seeking to create a bottleneck for hungry and desperate migrant workers escaping from the impact of imperialist oppression and war in dozens of countries. It has chosen, of all places, Panama, a principal international trade route through which thousands of ships cross from the Pacific to Atlantic Oceans and where billionaires go to hide their fortunes from taxes. It is the latest grim illustration of how the conflict between the globalized forms of production and the obsolete capitalist nation-states is dragging humanity into barbarism and turning “our planet into a foul prison,” in the words of Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky. On July 1, on Mulino’s inauguration day, US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas traveled to Panama and signed an agreement providing $6 million for repatriation flights, as well as training programs and technical assistance for migrant authorities to “close” the border with Colombia. Under the previous government, the Panamanian authorities would directly profit off of busing or otherwise expediting the transportation of the US-bound migrants across the country to Costa Rica. However, representing a significant political shift to the right in local politics, Mulino campaigned on the basis of scapegoating migrants, equating them with criminals. A livestock ranch owner and lawyer who headed the country’s employer association, Mulino acts openly on behalf of former President Ricardo Martinelli, an authoritarian figure who sought asylum in the Nicaraguan embassy after facing charges for phone tapping opponents and journalists, money laundering and embezzling tens of millions of dollars in public funds. Foreshadowing the character of the Mulino administration, Martinelli is also infamous for ordering police and soldiers to massacre banana workers, Indigenous activists and others demonstrating against his attacks on labor rights, mining concessions and the creation of the Colon Free Trade Zone. 

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[latin-america-photography]

Tens of thousands of migrants from around the world make the journey to the southern U.S. border through South America every year, crossing the roadless stretch of mountainous, inhospitable rainforest between the continents. Walking for several days in harsh climatic conditions, risking their lives and facing dangers of poisonous snakes and spiders, and drug-trafficking criminals, they are driven forward by their faith in the “American dream”. - Copyright © 2023 Jan Sochor Photography

[humanrightsupdates]

Americas: Migrants Pushed to Cross Darién Gap, Abused

Movement restrictions, often promoted by the United States, have pushed migrants and asylum seekers to cross the Darién Gap, exposing them to abuse and empowering organized crime.

The devastating stories of abuses of people who try to cross the Darién Gap are the result of failed immigration policies that push people into danger.

Governments in the Americas should take steps towards ensuring rights-respecting immigration policies, including by increasing safe and legal pathways for migration and ensuring access to asylum.

The 62-page report, “‘This Hell Was My Only Option’: Abuses Against Migrants and Asylum Seekers Pushed to Cross the Darién Gap,” is the first in a series of Human Rights Watch reports on migration via the Darién Gap. Human Rights Watch found that restrictions on movement from South American countries to Mexico and Central America, often promoted by the United States government, have helped contribute to sharp increases in numbers of people crossing the Darién Gap. This exposes migrants to abuses, including sexual violence, and empowers organized crime in the area.

[kp777]

The Darien Jungle between Colombia and Panama becomes a highway for migrants | AP News

[zabagar]

A venezuelan migrant crosses the Darien Gap on foot. One of the thickest jungles in the planet, it has recently became a crossroad for hundreds of thousands trying to get to the United States.

The man is carrying a backpack from an immense, exploitative, food delivery app common in Colombia and South America.

Photo by Federico Ríos.

[erebusvincent]

The Darién Gap was once considered impassable. Now hundreds of thousands of migrants are risking treacherous terrain, violence, hunger, and disease to travel through the jungle to the United States.

[instantzipperbailiffcalzone]

https://x.com/Michael_Yon/status/1762466387413324278?t=OJoLWTS2N0e9gtXDawjJOQ&s=09

Coming through the Darien Gap daily

[mapsontheweb]

Darién Gap in Panama and Colombia.

Large numbers of migrants crossing this area have increasingly overwhelmed the indigenous communities here.

by Cchurchili

[tearsofrefugees]

Chasing the American dream: Into the Darien Gap

Photographer: Adri Salido

This is a project I did following a group of about 1,000 migrants through the Colombian part of the Darien Gap. This migratory route has become one of the busiest in recent years where migrants of different nationalities such as Venezuelans, Ecuadorians or Haitians flee the misery of their countries in search of the American dream. Even so, this route is not easy, since the passage through the Darien jungle is full of dangers such as inclement weather, assaults by armed groups and in general the hardness of the road that can be lengthened for more than ten days to reach the UN camps in Panama.

 International Photography Awards™

[headlinehorizon]

Panama Takes Dramatic Measures to Contain Surge of Migrants: Latest News

Find out the latest news on Panama's response to the overwhelming surge of migrants passing through the treacherous Darien Gap. The country intensifies deportations and bolsters border infrastructure to curb the influx.

[humanrightsupdates]

Americas: Migrants Pushed to Cross Darién Gap, Abused

Movement restrictions, often promoted by the United States, have pushed migrants and asylum seekers to cross the Darién Gap, exposing them to abuse and empowering organized crime.

The devastating stories of abuses of people who try to cross the Darién Gap are the result of failed immigration policies that push people into danger.

Governments in the Americas should take steps towards ensuring rights-respecting immigration policies, including by increasing safe and legal pathways for migration and ensuring access to asylum.

The 62-page report, “‘This Hell Was My Only Option’: Abuses Against Migrants and Asylum Seekers Pushed to Cross the Darién Gap,” is the first in a series of Human Rights Watch reports on migration via the Darién Gap. Human Rights Watch found that restrictions on movement from South American countries to Mexico and Central America, often promoted by the United States government, have helped contribute to sharp increases in numbers of people crossing the Darién Gap. This exposes migrants to abuses, including sexual violence, and empowers organized crime in the area.

[kp777]

From CNN: This was once one of the richest countries in South America. Here's why people are leaving by the millions