Skip to main content

Migrants crossing the Darien heard of Donald Trump's victory — and picked up the pace

Colombian migrants board a boat toward Bajo Chiquito, Panama, after walking across the Darien Gap from Colombia en route to the United States, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) Colombian migrants board a boat toward Bajo Chiquito, Panama, after walking across the Darien Gap from Colombia en route to the United States, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Share
BAJO CHIQUITO, Panama -

Jesús Chávez, a 34-year-old pastry chef from Barquisimeto, Venezuela, arrived in this small village at Panama’s edge of the Darien jungle on Friday.

He was traveling with five others, a mix of friends and family. They had all left Venezuela last Saturday with the goal of reaching the United States.

He said the group had waited in Venezuela for the results of July's presidential election, but after President Nicolás Maduro was declared winner despite evidence that he had lost, they decided to leave. "We didn’t see any hope,” Chávez said.

They entered the Darien Gap Tuesday and heard about Donald Trump’s presidential victory while still trudging through the jungle.

Migrants line up to board a boat at the Tuquesa River, near Bajo Chiquito, after walking across the Darien Gap from Colombia en route to the United States, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

“We’re trying to arrive as soon as possible, before January, to see if we have a chance with CBP One,” he said, referring to the U.S. government’s online portal that allows migrants to seek an appointment to request asylum at the border. Trump has said he will end CBP One.

Chávez said they wanted to get to the southern Mexican city of Tapachula where they would be able to access the app.

In Bajo Chiquito migrants can buy food, rent rooms, hammocks or spaces to set up their tents. There is Wi-Fi and NGOs offering medical care.

Venezuelans make up the majority of migrants passing through, but the group Friday also included people from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Bangladesh.

Through Tuesday, Panama had recorded nearly 289,000 migrant arrivals through the Darien. This is about 38% fewer compared with the same period last year. Sixty-nine percent of this year’s arrivals were Venezuelans.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Notre Dame Cathedral: Sneak peak ahead of the reopening

After more than five years of frenetic reconstruction work, Notre Dame Cathedral showed its new self to the world Friday, with rebuilt soaring ceilings and creamy good-as-new stonework erasing somber memories of its devastating fire in 2019.

Local Spotlight

100-year-old Winnipeg man walks blocks to see his wife

It's considered lucky to live to be 100, but often when you hit that milestone, you're faced with significant mobility issues. Not Winnipeg's Jack Mudry. The centenarian regularly walks five blocks to get where he wants to go, the care home where his wife Stella lives.

Stay Connected