With mountains, intense mud, fast-running rivers and thick rainforest, the Darién Gap, a strip of terrain connecting South and Central America, is one of the most dangerous places on the planet.Over the past few years, there has been an enormous increase in the number of migrants passing through the perilous zone in the hopes of getting to the United States.Today, we hear the story of one family that’s risking everything to make it across.Guest: Julie Turkewitz, the Andes bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: The pandemic, climate change and growing conflict are forcing a seismic shift in global migration.Two crises are converging at the Darién Gap: an economic and humanitarian disaster underway in South America, and the bitter fight over immigration policy in Washington.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
The Darien Gap, a 66-mile trek between Panama and Colombia, is the only portion of a dangerous, migration highway that was never constructed, making it difficult for migrants to cross. However, traffickers are encouraging people on social media to make the trek despite the dangers.
The transcript describes the process of crossing the Gulf of Uraba, from the guiding process and buying the ticket to the de facto exception in US policy that allows migrants to temporarily stay in the United States and apply for asylum.
A group of people struggle through slippery mud and rocks, with one man yelling in frustration as everyone becomes bedraggled and covered in mud.
A journalist recounts the story of a mother who was forced to hand over her child's fate to a stranger in hopes of making it through the migrant journey to the United States, leaving the journalist and her photographer to wait and hope to reunite them.
A reporter follows a young girl and her family on a migrant trek seeking asylum in the U.S., and witnesses the heartbreaking reality of separated families and the challenging conditions they face along the way.
Alexandra reunites with her daughter and apologizes for her past behavior while repeatedly asking about Sarah's whereabouts.
The Darien Gap exception for people seeking asylum in the US has helped drive people through the jungle, leading to a large number of possible crossings in 2023. As a response, the US is calling for humanitarian parole application, but trafficking advertisements are luring people to enter the US irregularly.
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