Hi, Reddit. Over the course of five months, I traveled to the Darién Gap three times and met people who were willing to risk treacherous terrain, violence, hunger, and disease to make the 70-mile journey from Colombia into Panama.
The Darièn Gap is the only way to get from South to Central America by land, and though it was thought for centuries to be all but impassable, it has recently become a superhighway for people trying to migrate to the United States. More than half a million crossed it in 2023, and the United Nations predicts that even more could do so this year.
What I saw in the jungle confirmed the pattern that I have seen play out in my reporting on other places, from the Rio Grande to the Mediterranean Sea: The harder migration becomes as a result of government crackdowns intended to discourage it, the more cartels and other dangerous groups profit, and the more migrants die.
You can read my full article, and view the photographs from Lynsey Addario, who made the journey with me, here.
[Proof Photo] (https://x.com/TheAtlantic/status/1833188339995836669)
Hi! I’m Caitlin Dickerson, and I’m a staff writer at *The Atlantic*. I walked the Darién Gap to investigate how American efforts to deter migration haven’t stopped people from trying to make it to the U.S.—they have just made the journey more treacherous. Ask me anything.
byu/theatlantic ingeopolitics
2 Comments
They say it’s impossible to build a road through there
Since you’ve been there, what do you think?
Is getting through getting easier and/or cheaper or harder and/or more expensive? The numbers seem to be rising but is that due to changes in the Gap or outside forces?