Left for Dead in the Darien Gap
Left for Dead in the Darien Gap
Nohemi Yanez left Venezuela with hopes of building a better life. She has been missing for over a month.
This week’s feature is by Timothy O’Farrell, a migration researcher and photojournalist living in Colombia
Andrea Verde and Nohemi Yanez have been friends for nearly a decade. They met in Colombia after Nohemi fled Venezuela in 2018. ‘Mi vieja’ is what she calls her – a slang of affection that roughly translates to “my girl”.
Nohemi went missing in late May crossing the Darien Gap, the stateless jungle crossing that separates Central from South America. She was traveling with Andrea’s younger brothers as well as her stepfather.
On the 1st of June, the group arrived in the Panamanian town of Bajo Chiquito. But Nohemi never made it out of the Gap.
The group phoned Andrea and said that Nohemi had died. “She had a very strong stomach pain”, and that they had “left her body in the jungle.”
Andrea has been posting about Nohemi being missing in the Darien for nearly a month now on Facebook groups for migrants crossing the Darien gap.
However, the following day, an acquaintance of the group “claimed to have seen her sitting on a rock with pain in her ankle.” At that moment, Andrea tells PWS, “I started posting about her [on Facebook]. And other people started commenting that they saw her walking very slowly with stomach pain.”
Andrea believes that Nohemi must have fainted and been unconscious for a while, leading those with her to believe she had died.
According to the United Nations Missing Migrant Project, 245 people have disappeared between 2021 and March 2024, but that number is likely highly underreported, as neither Colombia nor Panama has any presence in the region, and neither protocols nor the ability to rescue those who might be suffering from a medical emergency.
“These figures most likely represent only a fraction” of the true number of people who’ve lost their lives in the Darien,” said Samira Gozaine, the head of Panama’s National Migration Service. Human Rights Watch has issued reports that come to a similar conclusion.
Of those deaths authorities have confirmed, drowning is the most common cause, with exposure being second. Interpersonal violence, like gunshot wounds and stabbings, is also high on the list.
Despite being aware that people are dying every week in the Darien jungle – a trend which will only continue to grow as the number of migrants crossing the Darien grows year on year – the Colombian and Panamanian authorities seem largely unwilling to take concrete steps to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis.
Due to the inhospitable nature of the Darien, and the fact that is controlled by armed criminal groups like the Clan de Golfo, humanitarian agencies are also limited in what they can do when someone goes missing.
Several of Andrea’s posts in the Facebook group have received over 350 comments and 200 shares, while a friend of Andrea’s posted a reel about Nohemi being missing which has been viewed over 100,000 times. Almost 100 people entering the jungle have commented saying they will keep an eye out for any signs of her, while others on the Panamanian side have been in contact with local hospitals and SENAFRONT, Panamanian border security. Many others offer their prayers and words of condolences.
However, Andrea remains without luck, and although as each day passes without any reported sightings of her ‘vieja,’ Andra continues to search with faith.
Sadly, the case of Nohemi is far from isolated.
Every other day someone posts in one of these Facebook groups asking for help to find their “amigo desaparecido,” “hijo desaparecido” “padre desaparecido.” The list goes on.
The constant flow of posts on the Darien Facebook pages, alongside the figures from the Missing Migrants Project and Human Rights Watch demonstrate just how much of a feat it is to cross the Darien Jungle.
Rafael, a Venezuelan migrant who is waiting for a visa appointment in Mexcio City, told PWS that in the jungle he saw “people dying because they fell from rocks” while “others were swept away by the river.” Of the five migrants PWS spoke to PWS via Whatsapp for this story, all saw at least one dead body during their Darien crossing.
“Everyone comes out with a story,” said Rafael, “and a sense of satisfaction of having been able to get out of there and not joining the people who died.”
Due to the treacherous nature of the Darien and migration in general, people often do not have enough time to mourn their loved ones in the jungle. Nor are they able to safely bring out their bodies. Instead, migrants are forced to leave their deceased behind hoping that one day they will be recovered.
In 2021, AP News reported on 15 migrants being buried in the Darien province after they had died trying to cross the gap. However, at the time of burial, all of these bodies were unidentified. Other reports show small settlements in the Darien constructing cemetery’s to house the remains of those who have been found in the river or nearby jungle.
With the number of people crossing the Darien Gap in 2024 expected to exceed the 500,000 who did so in 2023, the number of searches for missing people, alongside deaths in the Darien, will only increase accordingly.
That is until the Panamanian and Colombian governments, alongside the United States, agree on a safe passage for migrants.
At the time of publication, Andrea still has not heard from Nohemi….
The Big Headlines in LATAM
Bolivia defeated an attempted coup this week. The story is pretty complex, but President Arce survived an attempt to overthrow him that was led by former general Juan José Zúñiga. Rather than try to describe the details in just a single paragraph, we recommend coverage at the Buenos Aires Herald, written by our own pirata, Amy Booth.
She does an amazing job offering the complexity and nuance this story deserves.
Juan Orlando Hernández, the ex-president of Honduras convicted of drug crimes by US court, was sentenced to 45 years in prison on Wednesday. Hernández built a violent empire that worked with some of the most prolific drug traffickers during his two-term 10-year time as president.
Spanish Word of the Week
Vacuna
Vacuna translates literally as “vaccine”, but in Colombia, cobrar la vacuna has a very different and specific meaning. Much of the country has long been controlled by armed or criminal groups who impose extortion payments on businesses and residents.
Residents are criminal groups alike refer to these payments as the vacuna. The idea being, you have to pay for a vaccine or you might get sick. Pretty similar vibe to the U.S. gangster trop of “nice place you got here. Be a shame if something happened to it.”
The short of the story is that most of Colombia is paying for “vaccines” against violence committed by criminal groups, armed groups, and sometimes even the police.
We don’t charge a vacuna here at PWS. But we do need to buy food! In lieu of duress, however, we ask that you consider taking out a paid subscription to support our work (if you haven’t already).
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