BOGOTA (Reuters) – Thousands of migrants, mostly Venezuelans, are stuck in a village in northwest Colombia, waiting for boats to take them across the Gulf of Uraba, before traversing through treacherous jungle as they make their way to the United States, Colombia’s human rights ombudsman said on Wednesday.
The crowd, which Colombian government officials have called a humanitarian crisis, has gathered in the village of Necocli, an obligatory step in the journey taken by tens of thousands of people each year as they try to make their way to the United States via Central America in search of new opportunities.
“The migration crisis this year is far more serious than last year,” said ombudsman Carlos Camargo, citing the greater number of migrants attempting to make the journey, as well as their precarious economic condition.
So far this year 150,000 people have tried to make their way through the so-called Darien Gap – a dangerous stretch of jungle joining Colombia and Panama – compared to 134,000 in the whole of 2021, with trends suggesting more people will attempt the journey, Camargo said.
Some 9,000 migrants are currently in Necocli, Camargo said.
Colombia has in recent years become the main destination for people fleeing Venezuela’s political, social and economic crisis, with 2.4 million Venezuelans residing in Colombia, according to migration authorities.
While Colombia has offered temporary protected status to Venezuelan migrants, giving them access to jobs and healthcare, for 10 years, many have decided to try to travel to the United States, according to sources in Colombia’s migration agency.
The European Union on Tuesday announced it would provide Colombia with 34 million euros ($33 million) in humanitarian aid, of which 22 million euros will go toward those affected by Venezuela’s crisis.
Colombia’s Vice President Francia Marquez acknowledged the “complex situation” regarding migrants looking to cross the Darien gap during a press conference with Janez Lenarcic, the EU’s crisis management commissioner, on Wednesday.
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(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Additional reporting and writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
