AP has rare access as Haitian migrants, in bid to reach US, face perilous jungle crossing of Darien Gap
Migrants cross the Acandi River on their journey north near Acandi, Colombia, Sept. 15, 2021. The migrants, most Haitian, were on their way to crossing the perilous Darien Gap from Colombia into Panama. dreaming of eventually reaching the U.S. (AP Photo / Fernando Vergara)
By Astrid Suárez, Fernando Vergara and Marko Álvarez
Hundreds of migrants try each day to cross the Darien Gap — a thick jungle between Colombia and Panama traversed by many ultimately seeking the U.S. border — yet journalists rarely observe more than the first few steps of the journey.
Predominantly Haitian migrants fill a boat that will take them to Acandi, near the border with Panama, as they depart Necocli, Colombia, Sept. 13, 2021. Migrants were gathering in Necocli as they moved north in hope of reaching the U.S. border. – AP Photo / Fernando Vergara
Haitian migrants in Necocli, Colombia, board a boat that will take them to Acandi, near the border with Panama, Sept. 13, 2021, as they move north on a journey to the U.S. border. – AP Photo / Fernando Vergara
Haitian migrants prepare to board boats in Necocli, Colombia, Sept. 13, 2021, as they move north to Acandi, near Colombia’s border with Panama, on their journey to the U.S. border. – AP Photo / Fernando Vergara
A migrant waits to board a boat that will take Haitians from Necocli, Colombia, to Acandi, a town near the border with Panama, Sept. 13, 2021. – AP Photo / Fernando Vergara
Tents of Haitian migrants crowd the beach in Necocli, Colombia, Sept. 13, 2021, as tmigrants wait for boats that will carry them north on their journey to the U.S. border. – AP Photo / Fernando Vergara
Haitian migrants camp on the beach in Necocli, Colombia, Sept. 13, 2021, as they wait for boats that will carry them north on their journey to the U.S. border. – AP Photo / Fernando Vergara
Migrants arrive by boat in Acandi, Colombia, Sept. 14, 2021. – AP Photo / Fernando Vergara
Migrants cross the Acandi River on a horse cart in Acandi, Colombia, Sept. 14, 2021. The migrants, hoping to reach the U.S. border, were following a perilous route to Panama through the jungle known as the Darien Gap. – AP Photo / Fernando Vergara
Migrants, many Haitian, rest at a camp in Acandi, Colombia, Sept. 14, 2021, on a journey to the U.S. border. The were to continue continue into Panama through the jungle known as the Darien Gap. – AP Photo / Fernando Vergara
A migrant eats breakfast inside her tent at a camp in Acandi, Colombia, Sept. 15, 2021. – AP Photo / Fernando Vergara
Haitian migrants continue their trek north in Acandi, Colombia, Sept. 15, 2021. Following a well-trodden route through the jungle known as the Darien Gap, they hope to reach the U.S. border. – AP Photo / Fernando Vergara
Migrants, some carrying children, continue their trek north near Acandi, Colombia, Sept. 15, 2021. The migrants, most Haitian, are on their way to crossing the Darien Gap jungle from Colombia into Panama, dreaming of reaching the U.S. – AP Photo / Fernando Vergara
A man carries a child as migrants continue their trek north near Acandi, Colombia, Sept. 15, 2021. They were on their way to crossing the Darien Gap jungle from Colombia into Panama. – AP Photo / Fernando Vergara
A migrant carries two children across a river as they continue their trek north,near Acandi, Colombia, Sept. 15, 2021. The migrants, most Haitian, were on their way to crossing the perilous Darien Gap from Colombia into Panama, dreaming of reaching the U.S. – AP Photo / Fernando Vergara
Migrants cross the Acandi River as they continue on their trek north in Acandi, Colombia, Sept. 15, 2021, hoping to eventually reach the U.S. border. – AP Photo / Fernando Vergara
A migrant woman cradles a child as she crosses the Acandi River in Acandi, Colombia, Sept. 15, 2021. – AP Photo / Fernando Vergara
Migrants continue their trek north near Acandi, Colombia, Sept. 15, 2021. – AP Photo / Fernando Vergara
A family snapshot lies on the ground near a trail used by migrants near Acandi, Colombia, Sept. 15, 2021. Personal items were lost or discarded as the migrants, many Haitian, made the journey north, hoping to reach the U.S. border. – AP Photo / Fernando Vergara
But after days of negotiations with locals who participate in a human-trafficking network that shows migrants the way for a fee, the Bogota-based all-formats team of correspondent Astrid Suárez, photographer Fernando Vergara and video journalist Marko Álvarez were given exclusive access to the first hour of a treacherous six-day journey. Immigration officials say it’s a passage that is being undertaken at record levels — with some 70,000 migrants making the trek so far this year.
That single hour was enough to tell the stories of migrants willing to risk their lives in a jungle teeming with snakes,bandits and raging rivers that reached their waists and drowned out their voices. The AP team documented the exhaustion as migrants started to abandon belongings to carry less weight — leaving everything from clothes to wedding portraits strewn along the trail. And yet,they reported,the greatest danger is other humans, as armed groups control trails to traffick drugs and target migrants for theft and sexual assault.
#Darien | Se toparon con la primera loma empinada. Las maletas empezaron a pesar, una familia se detuvo y dejó sus abrigos. Otra tiró las fotografías de su matrimonio. Lo que no sabían era que se trataba de la montaña más baja que debían atravesar.https://t.co/TDDFUCmtvKpic.twitter.com/ViGhUGQlOg
For a stark all-formats portrait of desperation and determination in the depths of the jungle,Suárez, Vergara and Álvarez earn AP’s Best of the Week – First Winner.
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