The US Ambassador to Colombia asked the Venezuelans not to cross the Darien

Francisco Palmieri, the ambassador of the United States of America in Colombia, advised Venezuelans who want to cross the Darien Gap on the border of Venezuela with Panama this Saturday not to risk their lives to reach the United States. Deported to Mexico for illegal entry.

Palmieri this Saturday visited Necogli in Antioquia, Colombia, where this week some 9,000 captive migrants were waiting to get a boat to take them to Agandi in Choco to begin their journey through the Darien.

The ambassador was in the Caribbean city with Laura Gil, Colombia’s deputy minister of multilateral affairs, because, as she said, all countries have a “responsibility to resolve the regional migration crisis.”

This week, the U.S. government announced it will no longer deport Venezuelans who cross the southern border back into Mexico, as it seeks to curb immigration.

With the announcement of the new reality on the border, the United States also created a new migrant relief program for Venezuelans, through which they hope to “reduce” the migrant movement of various countries in the region, including Panama and Mexico.

The program, similar to a benefit the U.S. already offers to immigrants from Ukraine, has a cap of 24,000 applicants, a small number compared to the number of Venezuelans arrested crossing the border into Mexico in recent months.

More than 25,000 people were arrested last August alone, and the number has risen to about 150,000 over the past 11 months, according to data from Customs and Border Protection.

Crisis in Darien

The Colombian Ombudsman’s office this week warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis at the border with Panama, where some 9,000 migrants are currently waiting to cross the Darien to North America.

The agency added that this year the “migration crisis is more serious than the one recorded last year” and “the number of people on the move to Panama has exceeded 150,000, compared to 134,000 migrants in 2021.”

While 4,415 migrants crossed the border in January this year, 31,055 did so in August, giving an idea of ​​the increase in the number of people wanting to cross Panama to continue their journey overland to the United States.

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