Over the last year and a half, more than 700,000 migrants and asylum seekers, most fleeing crises in Venezuela and Haiti, have crossed the Darién Gap, where they are exposed to abuses, including sexual violence. What is compelling people to make this dangerous journey?
What is the Darién Gap?
The Darién Gap has for decades served as a prominent path for people migrating northward from South America, often with hopes of reaching the United States. The terrain is steep and slippery and the rivers fast, especially during the rainy season. Most routes follow paths over a rugged mountain range with ridges as high as 1,800 meters (6,000 feet)—where flags mark the Colombian-Panamanian border.
In addition to Latin American countries, many people using the Darién Gap come from places in Asia and Africa.
But it’s not just the challenging environment that poses danger to those using the crossing. Criminal groups and bandits operate in this secluded jungle, exploiting migrants. Many people traveling through the Darién Gap have been robbed or sexually assaulted.
Dozens of people, if not hundreds, have lost their lives or gone missing trying to cross. Many have never been found.
Why choose this path?
Human Rights Watch visited the Darién Gap six times between April 2022 and September 2024 and interviewed more than 300 people. We found that the absence of clear social and economic integration strategies in some South American countries has left migrants without adequate jobs and facing difficulties accessing health care, housing, education, and social programs, forcing many to head north.
Movement restrictions like visa requirements by Mexico and Central American countries, often promoted by the United States, also push many to cross the Darién Gap.
What Needs to Happen
As crises in Venezuela and Haiti worsen, governments in the Americas, including the United States, need to step up their response to meet the challenges posed by increased migration.
Foreign governments should create safe and legal migration pathways for people fleeing human rights crises in Latin America, so they are not forced to risk their lives in the jungle.
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