A once-remote patch of rainforest is now packed with migrants trying to reach the U.S.
November 19, 202110:36 AM ET
John Otis
Colombian guides and migrants walk and ride motorcycles at the beginning of the journey through the Darién Gap. To cover the first few miles, migrants can pay to ride on the back of motorcycles that navigate muddy trails. But soon the jungle thickens, and they must start walking.
Carlos Villalón for NPR
DARIEN JUNGLE, Colombia – For centuries, jungle-covered mountains, swamps and poisonous snakes scared people away from the Darién Gap, the dense rainforest separating North and South America. It's still the only spot where the Pan-American Highway, that runs from Alaska all the way to the tip of South America, dissolves into mud.
But thanks to the large numbers of migrants trying to get to the United States, the Darién Gap is no longer a no man's land.
In fact, when NPR first reached the region in September, birds singing and monkeys howling could not be heard. The main sound came from dozens of motorcycles. The passengers sitting on the back were migrants from Haiti, Venezuela, Cuba, India and African countries. But because they lacked U.S. visas, they had to travel overland, first through South and Central America and then Mexico.
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