The Darien Jungle: A passage for desperate migrants | Opinion

As our helicopter hovered over the treetops in the ungoverned region between Colombia and Panama known as the Darien jungle, the sheer density and darkness of the jungle below were striking.

To counter the human smugglers and traffickers who lure migrants with promises of an easy path northward to freedom and economic opportunity, Panama has launched a public relations campaign entitled: Darién, No es una ruta, es una jungla , which translates in English to: “The Darien: It’s not a passage; it’s a jungle.”

And yet they still come…men, women and young children.

When we recently landed at the river’s bend where the Panamanian government, United Nations organizations and civil society are providing humanitarian assistance, we witnessed canoes coming ashore one after another after another.

“Venezuela,” they called out when we asked where they came from. When we asked why, they responded with: ‘Maduro!’”

Passage for Venezuelans

Approximately 70% of migrants coming through the 60-mile stretch of the Darien jungle these days are from Venezuela. The migrants we met told us the numbers will grow even higher because they see that Maduro is trying to steal the July 28 election and robbing them, their children, their families and their native homeland of a democratic and economic future. They fear that many of their fellow Venezuelans are losing hope.

Those we met had heartbreaking stories of what they encountered navigating the mountainous jungle. A Venezuelan mother told us she made it through with her tw

o daughters, 5 and 3.

Officials say that one out of five migrants who made the dangerous trek are young children, many traveling without their own parents. They said the crossing is made under horrific conditions. They witnessed crimes – including robberies and sexual assaults – throughout the journey and often came across the corpses of those victimized by the criminals.

Two days after witnessing Venezuelans emerging from the Darien jungle, we headed north to Costa Rica near the country’s border with Nicaragua. We visited a soup kitchen that provided temporary shelter and food to migrants as they prepared for the next leg of their arduous journey. To our surprise, we found the same group of Venezuelan migrants we encountered in the Darien already in Costa Rica. We spoke with a mother and father who had reached this point in the journey, braving the Darien’s perils, carrying a 10-month-old baby.

A Costa Rican official, overhearing the parents, said to us, “Can you imagine how desperate you must be—how bad Maduro must be—to travel with a baby through the Darien jungle?”

As Americans, the answer is ‘no.’ We can’t fully imagine the suffering that tyrants like Maduro have inflicted upon the millions who have fled.

But as officials in Panama and Costa Rica pointed out, it isn’t only the Venezuelans who are making this journey.

More than 20 nationalities are represented in the 1,000 or so coming from this region each week. The signs at the migration centers and humanitarian assistance sites are written in a range of languages, from Spanish to English, Arabic to Mandarin, Creole to French.

Not all migrants simply seek economic opportunity. Many, like Venezuelans, are fleeing oppression and persecution. Others have fled horrific violence in their home countries. Those refugees will require assistance, protection against forcible return, and creative solutions that maximize self-reliance and minimize dependency on aid agencies and governments.

Smuggles benefit

Nefarious groups continue to operate and exploit or recruit vulnerable people along these routes. In Panama, members of a trafficking smuggling ring were arrested . In addition, individuals from Afghanistan with ties to the Taliban were apprehended. And Costa Rica is not only cracking down on human trafficking , but officials also shared that in the last two years, they have stopped 18 individuals from across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia who also have ties to terrorism. Costa Rican authorities also arrested Maickel Villegas , who is suspected of assassinating former Venezuelan military leader Ronald Ojeda in Chile.

Given such potential security threats, the U.S. should significantly strengthen its security partnership and information sharing with Panama and Costa Rica. But there’s much more to be done.

Working with our partners, we must break apart the incentives for the smugglers and traffickers and their facilitators, who are making huge profits through the migrant trade. While local communities along the migration route are making a small amount compared to the traffickers, we should step up efforts to provide alternative development programs, so communities have other sources of income.

Second, we need to confront the money that dictators are making through their role in trafficking and organize a global campaign to end this illicit flow.

Nicaragua helping

For example, the Daniel Ortega regime in Nicaragua charges $150 per person or more to transport migrants from the southern border of Costa Rica to its northern border with Honduras.

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that in 2023, about 545,000 refugees and migrants entered Honduras . So far, in 2024, that number is at about 275,000.

An illegal industry for Nicaragua

Combined, over the last 20 months, the authoritarian Ortega regime has carried over 800,000 migrants northwards and pocketed over $120 million. And these figures do not include profits the regime makes from charter flights filled with migrants entering Nicaragua from around the world.

Third, the U.S. and Panama recently signed a “memorandum of understanding” to repatriate migrants. However, while some migrants and countries have already agreed to being repatriated, where will the majority of refugees and migrants, who are Venezuelans, go?

Unless that question is addressed, repatriation efforts are likely to fall short. In addition, it is vital that Colombia bolster its effort better to impede access to the Darien from its border.

Fourth, the humane treatment of refugees and migrants won’t be sustainable unless more members of the international community provide more financial support. According to the UN, only 19% of the humanitarian appeal for this regional effort is currently funded, and of the funds that have been committed, between 60-70 percent is coming from the U.S. That’s unsustainable — and shameful. While the U.S. is the world’s largest humanitarian donor, the rest of the international community should demonstrate its resolve and commitment to these important global challenges.

Fifth, USAID should post Senior Development Advisors in Panama and Costa Rica to collaborate with their governments, support their national efforts, and coordinate with other USAID missions and U.S. embassies on regional solutions to regional problems. Panama and Costa Rica aren’t just partners, they are eager partners. We should show our eagerness to deepen our partnership with them.

Finally, long-term solutions will require addressing the broad factors that lead people to leave their countries, such as dictators like Maduro, organized crime in Ecuador, gang violence in Haiti, lack of economic opportunity, corruption and human rights violations

In other words, we need to stop acting as though the security threats presented by uncontrolled migration only exist at the U.S. – Mexico border.

We must invest more resources with Panama and Costa Rica who are at the front lines and have demonstrated their commitment to help. The current and next administration in addition to the U.S. Congress need to, in a bipartisan manner, prioritize relations with these two countries, which are irreplaceable partners in this cause and so many others. They deserve our highest gratitude, financial assistance and diplomatic support.

Ambassador Mark A. Green is president and CEO of the Wilson Center. He served as USAID administrator from 2017-2020 and U.S. ambassador to Tanzania from mid-2007 to early 2009. Before that, he served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Wisconsin’s 8th District. V

Ambassador Mark A. Green is president and CEO of the Wilson Center. He served as USAID administrator from 2017-2020 and U.S. ambassador to Tanzania from mid-2007 to early 2009. Before that, he served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Wisconsin’s 8th District.

Eddy Acevedo is chief of staff and senior adviser to Ambassador Mark Green, president and CEO of the Wilson Center. He was formerly the national security adviser at the U.S. Agency for International Development and senior foreign policy advisor for former Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL.).

This opinion is solely that of the authors and does not represent the views of the Wilson Center.

Ambassador Mark A. Green , president and CEO of the Wilson Center, served as USAID administrator from 2017-2020 and U.S. ambassador to Tanzania from mid-2007 to early 2009. Before that, he served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Wisconsin’s 8th District.

Eddy Acevedo is chief of staff and senior adviser to Ambassador Mark Green, president and CEO of the Wilson Center. He was formerly the national security adviser at the U.S. Agency for International Development and senior foreign policy advisor for former Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL.).

This opinion is solely that of the authors and does not represent the views of the Wilson Center.