Over 3,000 stranded as boat captain arrests halt Darien Gap migration [View all]

Source: The Guardian

Over 3,000 stranded as boat captain arrests halt Darién Gap migration

Attempt to stop movement through perilous rainforest leaves people stuck in two remote Caribbean towns

Luke Taylor in Bogotá and Austin Landis in Necoclí
Thu 29 Feb 2024 21.21 GMT
Last modified on Thu 29 Feb 2024 21.25 GMT

Migration towards the US through a perilous but increasingly well-trodden rainforest border crossing has ground to a halt after the Colombian navy arrested two boat captains for trafficking migrants.

But the attempt to stop movement through the Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama has left more than 3,000 people stranded in two remote Caribbean towns, where officials fear the bottleneck could cause a public health emergency.

In the town of Necoclí, normally a waystation on the journey north, secretary of government Johann Wachter, said that as many 1,000 people were now waiting for boats to resume their normal ferry service across the Gulf of Urabá.

“Necoclí is a city with limited capacity,” said Wachter. “We’re trying to mediate, because obviously we’re worried that having so many people could ultimately end up affecting public order.”

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/29/darien-gap-migration-people-stranded