The Treacherous Darien Gap: Yet another Obstacle for Venezuelan Migrants
Following the Covid-19 pandemic, Title 42, an immigration policy permitting the US government to expel people from a country where communicable disease is present, has instigated backlash and highlighted holes within the US government’s immigration system. The policy allows authorities to send migrants back to Mexico with no opportunity to file a petition. Title 42 is implemented in conjunction with a new policy announced on October 12 by the Department of Homeland Security in response to an increase in Venezuelan migrants. The administration has initiated a private sponsorship parole programme, similar to Uniting for Ukraine (U4U), which grants protections to over 50,000 Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion. The parole programme for Venezuelans is capped at 24,000, a figure human rights organizations have dubbed ‘negligible’ in addressing the current border crisis. Following March of 2022, the Biden administration shared their intention to end the use of Title 42 following complications at the border and the unviability of a public health crisis as an excuse to uphold the policy. However, Title 42 was expanded starting in early October, following a deal between the Biden administration and Mexico, to include Venezuelans in the expulsions. The Venezuelan migrants expelled cannot claim protection and will be immediately sent to Mexico where they will have to leave within 15 days.
Immediate expulsion of migrants to Mexico has facilitated increased kidnapping, sexual violence and rape, and torture, with Human Rights First reporting over 10,000 cases from those sent to Mexico under Title 42. Migrant deaths and incidents of violence have also arisen because people are seeking irregular methods of transit. For Venezuelans seeking asylum, the dangerous jungle of the Darien Gap, a trek formerly impassable between South and Central America, saw over 130,000 migrants pass through its mountainous terrain in 2021. Panama’s National Migration Service reported over 151,000 people, 21,000 of which were minors, having made the journey between January and September this year alone. The trek has in store for the migrants flash floods, poisonous spiders, unexploded bombs and the overwhelming presence of paramilitary groups and gangs, waiting to attack migrants along the path. Under these conditions, the Darien Gap has become an ideal market for traffickers. Countries like Panama and Colombia have labelled this a ‘humanitarian crisis’ and have announced plans to grant temporary protections to asylum seekers.
Following the political and economic crisis in Venezuela, close to 7 million have fled the country. Of the migrants surveyed by non-profits and assistance agencies, 48% chose unemployment and unliveable salaries as their reason for leaving, with 40% discussing challenges for survival, including lacking food and basic necessities. Despite the mass exodus of migrants leaving Venezuela, President Nicolás Maduro praises the country’s economic growth. With harsh sanctions on oil from the US since 2019 and poor productivity in the oil sector, Venezuelan export income has suffered. However, the US has considered lifting or lessening sanctions upon action from Venezuela to restore democracy. This would be relatively advantageous for the US as a renewal of Venezuela-US trade relations would reinitiate exports of Venezuelan oil into the economy.
Yet Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council stated that Washington has no plans to lift the sanctions on Venezuela “without constructive steps” from Maduro. Venezuela’s leadership has faced heightened impoverishment and the effects of fleeing migrants and refugees. Fortunately for Maduro, the emergence and return of left-wing governments in Chile, Honduras, Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina has fostered softer relationships with these states and lessened polarization within the region. For example, Colombian president Petro has sought bilateral dialogue with Venezuela, conducting peace talks and discussing trade relations following the hostile stance of former Colombian president Ivan Duque. After 7 years of economic failure and struggle, Venezuela has shown subtle recovery in 2022 due to high oil prices, yet Caracas cannot generate reform and industry revival without capital, which has been blocked by strict sanctions.
Venezuela has made accommodating strides toward the UN and other NGOs attempting to implement justice against crimes against humanity. Following the harsh attack on protesters in 2017, the government has confirmed its cooperation with the ICC and the addition of a UN Human Rights Office on Venezuelan soil. While the EU signalled its approval for these actions with a $3 million donation, aid for Venezuela is significantly below that provided in Africa and the Middle East from the EU. This discrepancy is touted by President Maduro as a lack of consideration for Venezuela’s plight and consistent isolation from the western world rather than reintegration. While the EU and the UN have worked to increase cooperation and prevent human rights abuse, calls to implement new laws and form treaties on human trafficking and slavery demonstrate the capacity to do more and formulate permanent provisions for protection. The implementation of stricter legislation on human rights abuse and heightened international attention payed to the plight of Venezuelan refugees is not a solution but a step toward confronting the larger complication of Venezuela’s reform. This would in turn lessen the number of tragedies occurring within the Darien Gap.
Image courtesy of Milenioscuro via Wikimedia Commons, ©2018, some rights reserved.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the wider St. Andrews Foreign Affairs Review team.
