Oppositionist David Smolansky assured that he had “confirmed the deaths” on a regular route to try to reach North America
Four migrants Venezuelans died in the last week trying to cross the Darién jungle, the border between Colombia and Panama, the opposition David Smolansky reported on Wednesday. “In the last week we have confirmed the death of four Venezuelan migrants in the Darien jungle and a refugee on the Bolivian border with Chile,” Smolansky wrote on his Twitter account.
Smolansky told EFE that he was able to confirm this information by verifying with authorities, civil society and journalists through an office of the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) for the Venezuelan migrant crisis, which is in charge of coordinating. He also explained that those who died in the Darién jungle, including a minor and a police officer, came from the Venezuelan states of Mérida, Falcón and Carabobo. At the moment, he said, they are trying to get more details about the person who died on the border between Chile and Bolivia.
The Darién plug, an inhospitable jungle, is used by thousands of migrants from all over the world on their way to North America. Due to its natural characteristics, typical of a jungle, and the presence of armed groups, it is considered one of the most dangerous routes in the world. This year, more than 46,000 irregular migrants have crossed the Darién, most of them Haitians and Venezuelans, who travel to the US or Canada in search of better living conditions, amid an increase in the regional migratory flow, according to official information.
According to the latest update of the Regional Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (R4V), on July 12, approximately 6,150,000 people have left the oil country, of which 5,090,000 live in America Latin and the Caribbean.