The new measure applied by some migrants on their way to the United States to avoid the Darién jungle involves using the San Andrés archipelago as an alternative route, according to reports from Colombian authorities. The Attorney General’s Office has identified that Illegal human trafficking networks take advantage of the archipelago as a departure point for migrants to USA.
In the midst of the growing migration crisis in San Andrés and other borders of the country, Illegal networks are offering the archipelago as an exclusive route for migrants from 12 countries, including Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Nepal, Peru, and China, among others, destined for Central America and, finally, the United States. This new route involves the use of San Andrés as a strategic point to avoid the Darién jungle, an inhospitable and dangerous region that has traditionally been one of the routes used by migrants to reach Central America from South America.
Among the operators of this new route there are legally constituted companies in the tourism sector that are offering “tourist packages” specifically aimed at the migrant population., covering the route between San Andrés and Central America, with costs ranging between US$1,500 and US$5,000 per migrant. After payment, the illegal networks transport the migrants along one of the five routes to Nicaragua, without guarantees or minimum security conditions.
The lack of security on these crossings has led to worrying situations, evidenced by the rescue of at least 977 irregular migrants on the high seas between 2022 and 2023 and the disappearance of 59 people, including children and pregnant women, between August and December 2022. . The high probability of shipwrecks due to the precarious conditions of the vessels used.
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High risks in the marine crossing of the “VIP Route”
The “VIP Route” involves exposure of up to 15 hours on the high seas to avoid detection by the authorities and the risk of encounters with “pirate vessels” that strip migrants of their belongings, according to the Colombian Attorney General’s Office. The situation is aggravated by the obligation of some migrants to transport shipments of cocaine or satisfy sexual demands of traffickers to guarantee their passage to Panama..
In the Darién Gap, migrants of various nationalities try to cross into Panama, exposing themselves to crimes and remaining at the mercy of the Gulf Clan. The Urabá region (Necoclí – Turbo) has seen the departure of 370,613 people in 2023, while between 2018 and 2023, a total of 258 people have been registered between dead and missing in the Darién Gap.
The Attorney General called on the inter-institutional unit to adopt urgent care measures. The situation not only affects San Andrés, but also extends to different regions of the country, including Norte de Santander, where 1,900 walkers have been exposed to various violence and risks.
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