Almost 19,000 Immigrants, most from Haiti, have been trapped off the northern coast of Colombia, awaiting their voyage to Panama, the French news agency quoted an official source as saying, relaying the Athens News Agency.
«“After an assessment mission of the immigration crisis (…), we were able to find that there are currently almost 19,000 migrants,” in the Nekokli community of Antioch, “waiting to cross the border into Panama.”“, Said the Ombudsman Carlos Camargo.
These immigrants are “most of them from Haiti“, Camargo explained on Twitter.
For weeks, thousands of immigrants trying to reach the United States via Central America have been trapped in this small coastal town. Nekokli, on the Atlantic coast of Colombia, one of the crossing points to neighboring Panama.
The flow of migrants was reduced in 2020 due to measures imposed by the new coronavirus pandemic and the closure of the border.
But since the border opened, Nekokli, with a population of 45,000, has faced an unstoppable flow of migrants.
From Nekokli, migrants must then cross the Uramba Bay to reach the small village of Akadi, which borders Panama. Then they set out on a dangerous journey to cross Darien, a mountainous jungle that is particularly hostile and dangerous.
For days, without access to drinking water, are faced with reptiles, ravines, tropical rains and criminals often associated with drug trafficking gangs.
At the same time, the two shipping companies in the area, which operate daily from Nekokli, can not cope with the number of arrivals daily, resulting in congestion in the area.
These two companies “continue to sell 250 places each to immigrants every day,” said the ombudsman, who is in charge of defending human rights within the Colombian government.
«To date, they have already sold 11,500 tickets, as of October 13th. An unspecified number of people were unable to purchase these tickets“And” some decided to sail the Gulf of Uraba by illegal vessels, “Camargo explained.
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