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Caracas.- Cross the Darien jungle It has become a deadly journey for Venezuelan migrants, who in search of the American dream risk living a nightmare in that forest.. Assaults, kidnappings, murders and sexual abuse are some of the risks faced by those who decide to venture out and cross the thick jungle that divides Colombia from Panamaand that has become a common path to reach the United States.
In January 2022, Maria, a Venezuelan who crossed the Darién jungle, She assured in an interview for TVV that she was raped by seven men and that they later told her: “Run, go, if not, we are going to shoot them in the back”. She reported that she was raped along with other women, among them, a 13-year-old girl.
“The Darien is hell”
Roberto BermudezVenezuelan communicator in Panama, founder and CEO of @ChamoNoticiasPanama, considers that the Darien jungle is the door to hell. «To speak of the Darien is to speak of hell, I might call it the green demon. It has become a space where thousands of people have died. If I got the devil and he told me ‘I’m going to enter the Darién’, I would tell him not to do it, “said Bermúdez in an interview for El Pitazo.
Likewise, the communicator reported that one of the stories that marked him the most was a video of a mother who threw herself down one of the jungle ravines because she might not bear to watch when seven or eight criminals abused her 13-year-old daughter; however, she did not reveal the woman’s nationality.
even worms
At the interview, Bermudez revealed that he knew of the case of some Colombians who met at a African lady screaming because she had worms on her footbut they mightn’t get it out, so unfortunately they left it.
Hungry, cold and lost in the woods
While Jonathan Mogollonanother Venezuelan who decided to cross the Darien jungle, told the whistle that the voyage lasted eight days; he was hungry and cold; he got sick, he felt lost in the woods.
The goal of mogollon was to reach the United States, but his American dream vanished along the way. Fear, lack of money and exhaustion made him change his mind. Currently, he is living in Costa Rica.
“The jungle looks like a graveyard”
On their way, mogollonwho was traveling with his family, saw at least 16 decomposed bodies, cataloged the jungle of the Darién of cemetery.
“We might not help a woman in pain, beyond giving her a painkiller. A kilometer further on there was another woman with feet so swollen that she mightn’t walk and so we came across stories of raped women, graves and at least 16 decomposed bodies. The jungle looked like a graveyard.”
At least seven Venezuelans have died in less than five months
One of the most recent news is the death by drowning of Luz Asleidys Steile Arguelles and her daughter Lusied Antonella Chirinos Steile, who was a minor. Both were dragged by the waters of a river. Their relatives confirmed their deaths following they were sent a video showing their bodies, according to journalist Roberto Bermúdez.
July 2022
Freddy Alexander Lira He died while trying to cross the jungle. The information was released by journalist Roberto Bermúdez, who released a video showing the native of Carabobo state sitting on the ground and in serious health.
Through social networks, another video was broadcast showing Wilmer Monterola lying on the jungle floor. Monterola, a native of Nueva Esparta state, was found by another group of Venezuelans.
February 2022
Marine Castellano, 26, drowned when she was swept away by the current of a river when crossing from Colombia to Panama, the young woman was traveling with her husband and Franklin, her 6-year-old son.
March 2022
Andreína Chiquinquirá Acosta died of a heart attack in the Darién jungle. Although her fellow travelers helped her, they were unable to save her life. The Venezuelan left with her son from Colombia, to Capurgana, a place where walkers begin to enter the well-known jungle.
Merimar Paola Gomez Diaz He died on March 17, failing to successfully cross the jungle. Cardiac arrest was the cause of his death. The woman had emigrated with her mother, her husband and her three children, ages 1, 2 and 15.
Diego TorrealbaVista_1
Diego TorrealbaVista_1
