Venezuelan family living ‘American Dream’ after epic journey across 11 countries and notorious jungle
My phone pings late at night. It’s a message from Gustavo Aleman, our producer in Venezuela.
“Look who made it to America!” the message says, alongside a picture of a family standing in front of a ‘Welcome to the United States of America” sign.
It is the Zambrano family from Venezuela.
Our team first met them in the Darien Gap in November 2022, while we were filming a story about the notorious jungle trek from Colombia to Panama.
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Crossing the Darien Gap in search of a new life
We filmed as they criss-crossed rivers, waded through deep pools of water and hiked up steep hills made entirely of thick mud and rock.
Michael Zambrano was carrying his then two-year-old son Lucien in a baby carrier on his chest, while his four-year-old son Jordan clung to his hand.
His wife Mariangela was seven months pregnant.
They had left Venezuela, travelled to Chile – tried to make a life there but couldn’t – so made their way through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and then to Colombia, where they joined the trail – hoping to ultimately reach the US.
It took them five days to get through the jungle and into Panama.
Once they reached Panama they took a breather for a few days, before continuing north through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and then Mexico.
In Mexico City in January, Mariangela gave birth to a girl they named Ana, but because they did not have proper papers, they had to wait to get a birth certificate for their third child.
Once they received it, they applied for asylum in the US, and after nearly three months of waiting they got approval from US Customs and Border Protection to enter the US legally through Texas.
Ana was born in Mexico City in January 2023
The family had just $300 for the journey and often relied on the kindness of strangers
In the end it was a six month journey for the Zambrano family, mostly on foot, carrying everything they had in one rucksack – and with just $300 (£235) to their name.
They are now settling in to life in New York City.
“I feel everything was worth it, it was worth crossing 11 countries and four deserts with no money, just with the help of strangers, and with God’s help,” Michael told producer Gustavo Aleman in New York.
Pic: Gustavo Aleman
Pic: Gustavo Aleman
The family has been given a room at a shelter for migrants, as well as food and supplies for their children.
Eldest son Jordan has been enrolled in public school where, Michael proudly notes, he is learning English.
“The first day we took him to school we were so proud, after all we have been through,” he said while walking home from school with Jordan on his shoulders.
“This happiness will stay with me all my life.”
Michael is busking until his work permit arrives. Pic: Gustavo Aleman
Michael is waiting for his work permit to arrive, but in the meantime he earns a little money busking on the streets in the evenings – he is a singer.
He said: “I perform on the streets on the corner of a restaurant, I sing mostly Colombian music, and people are very supportive.”
He also creates content for his TikTok account, where he has more than 36,000 followers.
The Darien Gap is seen as a gateway to America for migrants from all over the world and more than 500,000 passed through in 2023, according to latest figures available.
When we said goodbye to Michael and his family – up to their knees in water and mud – just over a year ago, we wished them luck.
It’s the start of a new chapter for the family. Pic: Gustavo Aleman
However, we pointed out that rules at the US border had changed and their asylum claim couldn’t be processed at the crossing point.
Michael smiled and shook our hands.
“We will get through. The American people are nice, and they will hear our story and they will let us in. God will help them and help us,” he said, wading off into the distance with his family in tow.
They made it.
An incredible journey, but one that often doesn’t end so well for thousands of others.
Israel has approved a plan to capture all of the Gaza Strip and remain there for an unspecified length of time, Israeli officials say.
According to Reuters, the plan includes distributing aid, though supplies will not be let in yet.
The Israeli official told the agency that the newly approved offensive plan would move Gaza’s civilian population southward and keep humanitarian aid from falling into Hamas’s hands.
On Sunday, the United Nations rejected what it said was a new plan for aid to be distributed in what it described as Israeli hubs.
Israeli cabinet ministers approved plans for the new offensive on Monday morning, hours after it was announced that tens of thousands of reserve soldiers are being called up.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far failed to achieve his goal of destroying Hamas or returning all the hostages, despite more than a year of brutal war in Gaza.
Palestinian children struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, Gaza. Pic: AP
Officials say the plan will help with these war aims but it would also push hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to southern Gaza, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.
They said the plan included the “capturing of the strip and the holding of territories”.
It would also try to prevent Hamas from distributing humanitarian aid, which Israel says strengthens the group’s rule in Gaza.
The UN rejected the plan, saying it would leave large parts of the population, including the most vulnerable, without supplies.
It said it “appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic – as part of a military strategy”.
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IDF reservists call for end to war in Gaza
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More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since the IDF launched its ground offensive in the densely-populated territory, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
It followed the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.
A fragile ceasefire that saw a pause in the fighting and the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners collapsed earlier this year.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate against the Houthis and their Iranian “masters” after the group launched a missile attack on the country’s main international airport.
A missile fired by the group from Yemen landed near Ben Gurion Airport, causing panic among passengers in the terminal building.
“Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran,” Mr Netanyahu wrote on X. “Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters.”
Israeli police officers investigate the missile crater. Pic: Reuters
The missile impact left a plume of smoke and briefly halted flights and commuter traffic at the airport. Some international carriers have cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv for several days.
Four people were lightly wounded, paramedic service Magen David Adom said.
Air raid sirens went off across Israel and footage showed passengers yelling and rushing for cover.
The attack came hours before senior Israeli cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify the country’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, and as the army began calling up thousands of reserves in anticipation of a wider operation in the enclave.
Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport.
Iran’s defence minister later told a state TV broadcaster that if the country was attacked by the US or Israel, it would target their bases, interests and forces where necessary.
Israel’s military said several attempts to intercept the missile were unsuccessful.
Air, road and rail traffic were halted after the attack, police said, though it resumed around an hour later.
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Yemen’s Houthis have been firing missiles at Israel since its war with Hamas in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, and while most have been intercepted, some have penetrated the country’s missile defence systems and caused damage.
Israel has previously struck the group in Yemen in retaliation and the US and UK have also launched strikes after the Houthis began attacking international shipping, saying it was in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas.
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