The Darien Gap: The deadly jungle trek where families risk their lives to reach America
We arrive at Las Tecas camp on motorbikes, I can see it in the distance cut from the jungle, an open area surrounded by a series of wooden frames, covered by huge sheets of tarpaulin.
Beneath, there are over a hundred backpack-style colourful pop-up tents and dozens of hammocks strung from the wooden posts.
As we approach, we see hundreds of people milling around chatting, playing dominoes, or sat outside what I can only describe as a jungle internet cafe.
This is northern Colombia. We are in the middle of nowhere and there is electricity provided by a noisy generator on the side of the hill, makeshift shops, cafes, running water and clean toilets and showers – although they charge a dollar a pop for almost everything, and some here can’t afford that.
Las Tecas is an organised shanty town with a few extras.
I’ve been to more refugee camps, transit camps and migration centres than I can count, but this level of organisation took me by surprise.
The reason is money. The camp is operated by a large smuggling network, and their clients are migrants heading north to the United States.
In front of them lies a thick jungle infested with poisonous snakes, spiders, insects, criminal gangs, terrorist groups, and a 65-mile trek through rivers and mountains.
It is the Darien Gap – the gateway to Panama from Colombia, and the gateway to the United States of America.
For the migrants their last night in this camp is their last night of safety for a while.
If Everest has base camp, the gap has Las Tecas.
We strung our hammocks before night fall and wandered among the migrants, explaining we were joining them for part of their journey.
They’re from all over the world – Nepalese, Africans, Asians, Haitians, but mainly South Americans.
They were friendly and seemed both excited and nervous. What struck all of us was the sheer number of families, and the quite extraordinary number of small children.
I’ve read about the Darien Gap for years, and the only sensible conclusion anyone would reach, is that it’s too dangerous to cross as an adult, let alone as a child.
But the stream of migrants attempting this crossing is equally remarkable.
In the first nine months of this year 150,000 people did it. More than 20,000 of them were children. A decade ago, only barely 200 migrants attempted it.
The smugglers facilitate these daily moves and are making a fortune.
The migrants are desperate, and one can only imagine how awful their lives at home must be to take on this nightmare that takes at least five days in blistering heat and overwhelming humidity.
I’ll be honest, I was somewhat fearful, and I was only attempting a small chunk of the trip.
By 4 o’clock the next morning the camp is awake, breaking down tents and packing whatever they can carry.
Mums and dads get their children ready, dressing them, feeding them breakfast, filling their tiny backpacks, and slipping on their colourful wellington boots.
One baby had been bitten by insects during the night. She was covered in bites and her mother was scratching her back to try to ease the itch.
They haven’t even got to the jungle yet.
At first light they gather to take instructions from a man talking on a loudspeaker.
Then a gate opens, and they flood through.
One of their first obstacles of many is a river, and within minutes of setting off everyone is wet.
Slipping on rocks beneath the water little ones grab their parents, parents grab their children, hoisting them on to their backs and shoulders to try to keep them dry.
But everyone keeps moving.
We criss-cross the rivers following the migrants as they make their way along the valley floor towards higher ground. It takes them at least a day.
Against my usual judgement, we, like many here, are told by our guides to wear wellington boots.
The reason is if you step on a snake, it bites back and if you think about it, that’s at about calf-muscle level.
Out here you wouldn’t last more than 30 minutes from a really nasty snake bite, so we took the boot option.
The problem is we were wading through rivers, so every 10 minutes or so you’re carrying two extra boots of water – and trust me they’re heavy.
I was shown how to lean against a tree and bend my knee towards my back to empty the water. Simple, but annoying, although by now I accept the common wellie could really save one’s life.
Michael Zambrano from Venezuela is carrying his sleeping two-year-old son Lucien in a baby carrier on his chest, and a heavy pack on his back.
His four-year-old son Jordan sticks close by his parents. Mum – Mariangela – is seven months pregnant. They’re expecting a girl and have already named her Ana.
This family has been walking for months.
They left Venezuela seven years ago, lived in Chile for a while, then came to Colombia, where Michael worked as a street performer, making enough money to continue on their journey north.
The family are towards the back of the group.
“We have to save our energy and go slow,” Michael told me.
“I have this backpack plus my baby, so it is harder, but this one is four years old, so he is at least able to walk,” he continued, pointing to Jordan.
Every so often another Venezuelan migrant, Eduardo, who the family has met on the trail helps them, hoisting the little boy on to his shoulders in the deeper water.
Along the route are wooden signs nailed into trees urging them on.
One reads ‘Don’t be afraid’, another, ‘Difficulties vanish when faced with courage’.
But the jungle is full of deadly snakes, spiders and insects. It’s scorching hot and humid.
And very quickly the migrants start to thin out, the youngest and fittest leave the weakest ones behind.
The last of the group is a woman who has already sprained her ankle, it happened in the first hour.
She’s now using a stick for support. Her husband stops her every now and then and takes off her boots to empty the water and check the swelling. And then they carry on.
It’s impossible to imagine she will make it. But she keeps going.
They know they must climb the peak of at least one huge mountain, but the whole journey is arduous.
The rivers can surge if the rain is heavy, and that can simply wash people away to their deaths, especially if they can’t swim, which many cannot.
The first major test our group meets, after the river, is a high hill that is made entirely of mud and rock.
It’s steep and it’s like setting clay. The migrants have to get over this to continue their journey.
Simple wooden steps have been cut into the mud, with ropes to stop people falling into a ravine.
Without these steps their passage would take hours.
My wellies sank up to the top in mud as I hauled myself up. At the top a narrow gap has been dug between mud-covered rock that only one person at a time can pass through.
I edge my way through before descending the muddy staircase, slipping, and sliding, and holding the rope for dear life.
All I’m thinking is, if I’m struggling, how can someone carrying everything they own plus their children even remotely manage this?
And yet they trudge through the feet deep mud.
Some of the men grunt as they make their way up and then down the steep embankment, the women and children look terrified.
We meet Carlos Chinchin rinsing his boots and hands in the river water after getting through the muddy hill.
His toddler Carlito is strapped to his back, a Spiderman sun hat on his head.
Carlos is from Ecuador. His wife and their second child have already made the crossing and are in the United States.
I ask them where they are in the US, he says he doesn’t know.
“They’ve only told me they are in a shelter…” he replied.
It must be harrowing carrying such a small child through the jungle, but Carlos says he is driven by his desire to see his wife Catherine, and his child’s desire to see his little brother Josue.
As he sets off again, he sings to Carlito, calming him down, and comforting this little boy who can’t possibly know what is happening.
A few hours in we bump into Michael again. He looks tired this time – the family has just navigated the mud.
It’s hard he says but he has faith.
“There is nothing stronger than God, he will give us strength to cross all the mud ahead of us.”
It’s a remarkable amount of faith given the US border is now closed to Venezuelans.
The recent change in border policy means many Venezuelans are now stuck in countries along the migration route, unsure where to go.
Michael’s is one of them, but they are determined to carry on. He says he thinks the Americans will understand his situation and have mercy.
But they keep going. This is a huge movement of people which is only expected to increase.
And it’s hard to see how it will stop.
Credits:
Dominique Van Heerden, Gustavo Aleman and Carlos Villalon, producers
Richie Mockler, camera operator
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
World
Pope Francis funeral: 200,000 people bidding farewell to pontiff who had ‘open heart towards everyone’
Tens of thousands of people have packed St Peter’s Square as the funeral of Pope Francis begins.
Royals, world leaders and cardinals joined scores of worshippers at the Vatican, as mourning of the 266th pontiff transcended wealth and social class.
In keeping with Francis’s life as a breaker of tradition, many of the more elaborate and expensive rituals customary for the burial of popes have been foregone in favour of simpler options.
Around 200,000 people are attending the funeral, with around 50,000 packing out St Peter’s Square.
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Pope’s coffin carried out as funeral begins
Follow live: Pope Francis funeral service latest updates
His body had been lying in state since his death aged 88 on Easter Monday, spending the last few days in St Peter’s Basilica to allow mourners to pay their respects.
The Vatican – where the funeral service is taking place – and Rome – where Francis will be laid to rest – are under heavy security, with a no-fly zone in place overhead.
The coffin of Pope Francis is borne aloft by pallbearers. Pic: Reuters
Members of the clergy gathered to say farewell to their pontiff. Pic: Reuters
President Donald Trump and Joe Biden, along with Sir Keir Starmer, President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, headline a huge selection of global leaders and dignitaries.
Read more:
Pope Francis’s funeral – what is happening and when
Full order of service for Pope’s funeral
Francis’s coffin has been taken out into St Peter’s Square where 220 cardinals and 750 bishops and priests are sitting in rows, waiting to say goodbye to the Bishop of Rome.
A series of readings and prayers are being read before the 50,000 faithful gathered before the basilica, and the coffin will be sprinkled with holy water and incense.
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Singing rings out at the Vatican
Members of the clergy stand in St Peter’s Square. Pic: Reuters
It began with Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re reading the Penitential Act – a way for the faithful to confess their sinfulness.
This was followed by the Liturgy of the Word, a part in Catholic mass where faithful gather to hear and reflect on the word of God.
Cardinal Re then delivered the homily, speaking about Pope Francis’ life and service to God.
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Applause breaks out as Zelenskyy arrives
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re read the homily
The cardinal praised the pontiff as someone who “touched the minds and hearts of people” who was “attentive to the signs of the times”.
He added: “Despite his frailty and suffering towards the end, Pope Francis chose to follow this path of self-giving until the last day of his earthly life.”
He said Francis “was a pope among the people, with an open heart towards everyone”.
Tens of thousands pack St Peter’s Square for the funeral. Pic: AP
Clergy seated during the funeral. Pic: AP
At the end of the mass, the choir will sing in Latin: “May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs come and welcome you and take you into the holy city, the new and eternal Jerusalem.”
After the service, Pope Francis’s body will be taken in procession through the streets of Rome to his final resting place at his favourite church, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
Worshippers outside the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Pic: Reuters
He will be ushered into the basilica – dedicated to the Virgin Mary – by prisoners and migrants, a last reflection of his priorities as pope.
In a break with tradition, the Pope outlined in his will his request to be buried “in the ground, without particular ornamentation” but simply with the inscription “Franciscus”.
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