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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Laurence Blair in Capurganá, Colombia

Risking it all: migrants brave Darién Gap in pursuit of the American dream

Darién Gap Darien United Nations Panama Adam Isacson Haiti
A group of men, women and children support each other as they wade across a fast-flowing river with their possessions in plastic bin bags
Haitian migrants cross one of the Darién Gap’s many rivers. Their ultimate destination is the US border, about 2,000 miles away. Photograph: John Moore/Getty

José Moreno and Katerin Huertas have walked and hitchhiked hundreds of miles. Moreno, 20, wears beach sandals and carries a backpack stuffed with baby clothes, nappies and oat milk. Huertas, 22, carries their seven-month-old son, Kylean, strapped to her chest.

They cross a knee-deep river and scramble up a muddy slope in the sweltering heat. But the worst of their journey is yet to come. Ahead of them lies one of the most dangerous border crossings in the world: the Darién Gap, a lawless, roadless region of mountainous jungle, venomous snakes, fast-flowing rivers and murderous drug traffickers that connects South and Central America.

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