27 Venezuelan migrants rescued by Colombian authorities on the island of San Andrés

Fuente: The National

The Colombian Navy rescued 33 migrants, including 27 Venezuelans, who were heading to Central Americain the rescue of two boats in the vicinity of the San Andres ArchipelagoProvidencia and Santa Catalina, in the Caribbean.

The first operation was carried out on a boat driven by two Colombians, who were transporting 10 adults and three minors of Venezuelan citizenship, six Indians, two Ecuadorians and one Colombian, who were heading to Central America, the Navy reported in a statement.

The Colombians were arrested for the crime of migrant trafficking.

The second rescue took place on Cayo Pescador in Albuquerque, near San Andrés, “when 11 Venezuelan migrants, including three minors, were abandoned by the subjects who were supposedly taking them to Central America,” said the Navy, which rescued them.

Colombian authorities have rescued more than 200 migrants this year

“It should be noted that the weather and marine conditions in the Archipelago department during the last few days have not been favorable, with cloudy weather with a high probability of scattered rain and thunderstorms that reduce visibility at sea, endangering the safety of those who decide to undertake this journey without the minimum safety conditions required for navigation,” the Navy recalled.

So far this year, Colombian authorities have rescued 216 migrants on that route, which has become an additional alternative for migrating to North America, due to the dangers of crossing the Darien Gap, the dense and mountainous jungle that separates Colombia and Panama.

This year, 244,000 migrants have passed through this route, fraught with natural hazards and criminal gangs. This is a decrease compared to the previous year but still a very high figure.

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