In social networks there are many groups of migrants who have crossed or intend to cross the Darien jungle to get to the United States. When searching only on Facebook, in Spanish, at least 16 different pages appear with up to 171 thousand members of different nationalities, in which routes, tips are discussed and even notices of people lost in the dangerous jungle located between Colombia and Panama are published.
Some of the travelers who managed to pass the so-called darien plug they tell their own stories. Others take the opportunity to warn regarding the risks of the journey and clarify that it will not be the same experience for everyone.
There are approximately 130 kilometers of jungle that they must cross. A place full of rivers, plagues, swamps, ravines, swallowing up those who cannot keep up. A place, moreover, in which the beasts of nature also mingle with those who handle drug trafficking that moves through those parts.
At the final point, on the Panamanian side, journalists from international media take photos of skinny, muddy, wounded and trembling survivors who manage to avoid those paths that many define as infernal.
“If you want to get out fast, I don’t recommend this trip to anyone. And if you do, you must be willing to die. I was hungry, I was scared, I had critical points that I literally thought I would die. But I’m out of that,” posted a Venezuelan user, identified as Yuber Rondón, on July 26, 2022 in a Facebook group. He received at least 1.6 thousand comments, half requesting instructions, budget or recommendations.
In the Spanish-speaking pages dozens of nationalities are registered, where the majority are Venezuelans and Cubans.
However, the former also create their own private groups where they manage to gather up to 12,000 members. In these, more than ten publications are made a day, including questions regarding the jungle, missing person alerts, news and travel package offers for October 2022 and January 2023.
“Do not take small children”, “Do not make groups with weak people”, “Do not carry heavy luggage”, are the comments that are repeated. However, despite the warnings, there are several publications of nationals who venture with their young children along the route in which at least 76 migrants from Venezuela have disappeared, according to local media in Panama.
public conversations
In the groups of Venezuelans on the Darién in Facebook y WhatsApp there is no orderly line of conversations. They are not forums: questions and doubts are mixed with insults, prayers, misleading offers and testimonials.
A virtual tower of Babel in virtual and survival times. There are publications with more than 200 different opinions among themselves.
Scam attempts are common. Once or twice a day someone publishes a post promising to take users from Colombia to Panama without crossing the jungle, for less than 300 dollars. Others offer to traverse the jungle for just three days, although the actual trek can take anywhere from five to ten.
One of the most frequent questions is how much money is actually needed to be able to cross the Darién Gap.
“A question: is it true that many leave without money and arrive?” wrote a Venezuelan, identified as Andrés Montevideo, on July 23.
«They force you to get money. From there they make you call families, so that they can get money for them,” replied Carolina Ortega.
“Don’t you dare do that. It’s desperate, but launching that adventure without money is only going to put you in serious trouble, “commented another user, called Chamo Briceño, in the Montevideo post.
However, in these groups there are also publications on other topics: passport managers make offers to help process the document in an “express” way, products such as tents or flashlights are sold and there are those who charge for fixing damaged identity cards. .
How do travelers prepare for the Darien?
The migrants publicly ask for advice in the group and usually receive comments with phone numbers or brief explanations regarding the Darien route. Several write directly to the cell phones of people who present themselves as organizers of trips or packages. These ensure that the important thing is footwear, insect repellent and medications once morest fever or allergies.
“If your feet break, you’re ready. There you stay, because you cannot walk and nobody is going to carry you that way. So you have to wear sturdy shoes,” said one of these users, who preferred to remain anonymous, to Cocuyo effectvia WhatsApp.
Those who identify themselves as guides pass around supposed lists of what each person needs to go to the Darién. The opinion of these is varied: there are those who assure that it is a “simple” journey while others are sincere and explain that the jungle is full of great risks. Hundreds of testimonies regarding robberies, murders and sexual abuse on that route have been published in different media.
«The Darién Gap is a macabre open secret. It is the sum of everything that is wrong with our continent. The walkers are, for the most part, the most fragile expelled from regimes that continue to enjoy a power that crushes and kills,” reflected Argentine journalist Carolina Amoroso, in conversation with Luz Mely Reyes, director of Cocuyo effecton July 21.
Members of the online groups also publish videos in which Venezuelans ask their compatriots not to try to cross the jungle because of the danger it represents. However, many of these posts are quickly dismissed by other Page members.
“Today I will embark on a new path; I understood that everyone is the owner of his destiny. Some are going to judge me, but in the game of life you win or lose on the battlefield,” wrote a user identified as Jesús Noguera.
According to data from the Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants, known as RV4, to date at least 6,133,473 Venezuelans have left their country of origin due to a serious complex humanitarian crisis.. In July of this year, the National Migration Service of Panama assured that 48,430 people have passed through the dangerous Darién jungle in the first half of the year, of which 58% are Venezuelans (28,079).
Six out of 10 children who cross the Darién are Venezuelans
According to press reports, the death of 14 Venezuelans who tried to cross the jungle has been confirmed, so far in 2022.
The price discussion
The discussion of the prices to cross the Darién is common in social networks and WhatsApp groups. Several “travel organizers” offer packages priced in foreign currencies, especially dollars.
According to the costs published on the pages, a Venezuelan pays between 200 and 500 dollars initially. The route begins in Necoclí, a municipality of Antioquía, located in the north of Colombia. From here, migrants must pay a minimum of 100 dollars to a boat that takes them to Capurganá, in the Colombian department of Chocó, near the border with Panama. From there, they start walking in the jungle, which can last up to seven days.
Some Venezuelans say that when they arrived in Capurganá they found camps where they wanted to charge them up to 50 dollars just for being there. The guides ask between 50 and 100 dollars per person.
A report published by Human Right Watch (HRW) in June 2022 shows that migrants can pay up to 300 dollars to go from Capurganá (in Colombia) to Carreto (Panama) in a boat, and then begin to cross the jungle. However, testimonies indicate that the boats can demand up to 400 dollars per person.
In search of the dead and disappeared in the Darien
Photos of missing adults and children are also posted on WhatsApp and Facebook groups. Some relatives of deceased travelers They desperately ask for help to recover the bodies.
“Goodnight. A query: does anyone have any contact for a guide who walks in that jungle? My husband was supposedly buried in that jungle by a guide and we want to recover his remains and give him a proper burial, “wrote a user in the group” Darien new route to Panama “.
From Venezuela, families request help from Panamanian authorities to find the bodies of migrants who failed to cross the Darién. Until now, the migratory flow along this irregular route continues to increase every day.
