'Narco Jungle': My trek across the dangerous Darien Gap
Graphic content warning
My first security briefing was harsh. The advice: Sleep with one eye open. Don’t trust anyone. Walk fast. And this: You can’t protect yourself from rape, so take condoms.
And so, when a group of women, deep in the jungle, told me they had just been robbed, humiliated and sexually violated by an armed gang, I was horrified, but not surprised.
For six days our crew documented an unfolding migrant crisis through the Darien Gap, an untamed stretch of jungle that connects Colombia to Panama.
- In search for freedom, Chinese migrants increasingly risk it all by braving the Darien Gap
- From the point of view of W5's Director of Photography Jerry Vienneau
(CTV W5)
In a one-week period, more than 100 women reported being sexually assaulted on the journey.
This is the route we took.
Route through the Darien Gap (CTV W5)
Long used as a cartel pipeline for smuggling cocaine and weapons, the 100 kilometres of jungle has become a highway of human misery.
In 2023, a staggering 520,000 migrants completed the trek through to Panama in their search for a better life in the U.S. or Canada. An even greater number is expected this year. Most are from Venezuela, Ecuador, and Haiti but increasingly they are coming from China.
No one on the Colombian side is keeping track of how many enter the jungle, so there’s no record of how many die trying to cross the Darien Gap.
Three separate times we came across the bodies of those who didn’t survive.
Three separate times, the W5 crew came across the bodies of those who didn’t survive the trek through the Darien Gap (CTV W5)
The Colombian side of the jungle is controlled by the Gulf Clan Cartel. In an interview before the trek, one of the cartel leaders in charge of the lucrative migrant business told me the rules are very strict.
Human smugglers, who call themselves guides, charge the migrants hundreds and even thousands of dollars for safe passage and give the cartel a cut of their earnings.
It’s an industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars every year in Colombia. But the bulk of the trek is on the Panamanian side of the border, where there are no guides/traffickers and where armed groups of local criminals prey on migrants.
Our team includes director of photography Jerry Vienneau, producer Eric Szeto, producer/translator Maria Teresa Scotti, and former British soldier/paramedic Adam Creighton.
From left: W5 directory of photography Jerry Viennau, producer Eric Szeto and producer/translator Teresa Scotti (CTV W5)
We trekked for up to 10 hours every day through swamps, across rivers, over boulders and along rock cliffs. At night we slept in hammocks.
This is about halfway through the trek, gearing up for another harrowing day:
By our last night, most migrants had run out of food and didn’t have access to clean drinking water.
This is my final video diary (where you can faintly hear the snores of Jerry Vienneau, whose hammock was hanging right next to mine):
Watch W5’s 'Narco Jungle: The Darien Gap' in our video player at the top of this article
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6978649.1722015109!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Missing 3-year-old boy found dead in creek in Mississauga, Ont.: police
A three-year-old boy has been found dead a day after he went missing in a park in Mississauga, Ont., Peel police say.
Celine Dion delivers stirring comeback performance at Paris Olympics opening ceremony
Against the rainy Paris night sky, Celine Dion staged the comeback of her career with a powerful performance from the Eiffel Tower to open the Olympic Games.
Jasper mayor finds home destroyed by wildfire on tour of townsite
On a tour of the wreckage at the Jasper townsite, Mayor Richard Ireland stopped at one house, the charred remains of which had collapsed into the basement. It was his home.
Irish museum pulls Sinead O'Connor waxwork after just one day due to backlash
An Irish museum will withdraw a waxwork of singer-songwriter Sinéad O'Connor just one day after installing it, following a backlash from her family and the public, it told CNN in a statement on Friday.
Winnipeg senior's account overdrawn for $146,000 water bill
A Winnipeg senior is getting soaked with a six-figure water bill.
FBI says Trump was indeed struck by bullet during assassination attempt
Nearly two weeks after Donald Trump's near assassination, the FBI confirmed Friday that it was indeed a bullet that struck the former president's ear, moving to clear up conflicting accounts about what caused the former president's injuries after a gunman opened fire at a Pennsylvania rally.
Driver charged after flashing high beams at approaching police
Orillia OPP arrested and charged a driver with impaired driving after flashing their high beams.
Powerful cartel leader 'El Mayo' Zambada was lured onto airplane before arrest in U.S., AP source says
A powerful Mexican drug cartel leader who eluded authorities for decades was duped into flying into the U.S., where he was arrested alongside a son of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, according to a U.S. law enforcement official familiar with the matter.
Turpel-Lafond won't sue CBC over Cree heritage report that took 'heavy toll': lawyer
The lawyer for a former judge whose claims to be Cree were questioned in a CBC investigation says his client is not considering legal action against the broadcaster after the Law Society of British Columbia this week backed her claims of Indigenous heritage.
Local Spotlight
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6978272.1721953528!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
'She led it the whole way': 18-year-old B.C. woman leads hikers to safety in Jasper National Park
As fire threatened people in Jasper National Park, Colleen Knull sprung into action.
'There's mom and dad's house': New video appears to show destruction of Jasper neighbourhood
Video posted to social media on Thursday morning appears to show the charred remains of a Jasper, Alta., neighbourhood.
Sask. Second World War veteran, 103, receives France's highest national order
A Saskatchewan-born veteran of the Second World War was recently presented with France's highest national order.
Former First Nations chief voices Disney's first Ojibwe language Star Wars movie
A local First Nations elder and veteran is helping to bring the Ojibwe language to a well-known film for the first time.
Ottawa Humane Society reunites Montreal family with cat missing for 8 years
A cat who fled her Montreal home nearly a decade ago has been reunited with her family after being found in Ottawa.
Waterloo, Ont. woman out thousands after car totalled in hit-and-run
A woman in Waterloo, Ont. is out thousands of dollars for a car crash she wasn’t involved in.
'It looks scary, but they're harmless': Bees removed from Winnipeg street light
A swarm of bees living in a lamppost in Winnipeg’s Sage Creek neighbourhood has found a new home for its hive.
'Powerful symbol of the progress we have made': Land being returned to Manitoba Métis Federation
Around 100 acres of Manitoba Crown Land near the Saskatchewan border is being returned to the Métis community.
Cape Breton moose hunting suspended for 3 years due to 'significant' drop in population
Nova Scotia is suspending the licensed Cape Breton moose hunt for three years due to what the province is calling a “significant drop” in the population.