Transit of migrants through the Darien Gap resumes as Colombian boat companies end work stoppage
Migrants bound for the U.S. are once again crossing the Darien Gap in large numbers after being stranded for much of last week in a small Colombian town due to a work stoppage by local boat captains
BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AP) — Migrants bound for the U.S. are once again crossing the Darien Gap in large numbers, officials in Colombia said on Monday, after being stranded for much of last week in a small town along the country's Caribbean coast due to a work stoppage by local boat captains.
Johann Wachter Espitia, deputy mayor of Necoclí, said that 3,000 migrants have left the town since Friday on boats headed towards the Darien jungle, with another 400 people waiting and sleeping in tents, as they gather money to pay for their tickets.
From Necoclí migrants board boats that take them to two remote villages, where the treacherous trails that cross the Darien Gap begin.
The dense and roadless rainforest divides South America from Central America and in recent years it has become a common, yet perilous route for hundreds of thousands of South Americans, Asians and Africans headed to the United States.
