Almost 7,000 Ecuadorians have crossed the Darién Gap this year

Colombian and Ecuadorian authorities affirm that, this year, thousands of Ecuadorians have crossed the border through the department of Nariño, in Colombia, until reaching Necoclí, to continue on their way to the Darién Gap jungle.

According to Carlos Camargo, Colombian Ombudsman, “In the first nine months of 2022, 6,698 Ecuadorians have passed through the Darien Gap, a figure much higher than the 387 people who did so in all of 2021.”

This is “a significant figure that leads us to warn about the risks faced by these migrantsCamargo added.

For its part, the Ecuadorian Ombudsman indicates that the figure increased by 1,000% during the first nine months of 2022.

“There are a lot of Ecuadorians who are in the Darién Gap, who go to the Darién Gap and, above all, to try that… on site, in Ecuador, we can have certain controls, “said César Córdova, Ombudsman of Ecuador , in a video shared to the press.

Given this scenario, the authorities of both countries call on neighboring nations to safeguard the human rights of people seeking to reach the United States.

“For those who are trafficking these people, their business and that is what we want, first to control the territory and then to coordinate with the Panamanian Ombudsman to ensure that human rights are not violated,” Córdova said.

Camargo also urged all transit and host countries “to generate and articulate actions that lead to the protection of the rights of people in human mobility, guaranteeing a dignified, safe, orderly and regular migration.”

Generally, migrants take buses in Ipiales, on the border with Ecuador, which take them to the municipality of Necoclí, in the department of Antioquia, from where they take boats to cross the Caribbean, in the Gulf of Urabá, and then begin the dangerous adventure through the jungle.

Data from the Ministry of the Interior of Ecuador indicate that only in August of this year, 12,252 Ecuadorians left the country, through the border with Colombia.

Since the government of The United States announced the new immigration policy For Venezuelan citizens, the flow of migrants from this country who have entered Panama irregularly continues to decrease “considerably,” said the president of that country, Laurentino Cortizo, last week. However, the migration of people from Haiti and Ecuador, continues to be a challenge.

The number of migrants crossing the Darién in one day has dropped significantly, from 6,000 to 3,000, according to figures from the Government of Panama.

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