Colombian town declares emergency as 15,000 migrants gather for US crossing

‘I moved from Brazil to Haiti six years ago, but I was evicted when I could not pay the rent’

A TINY Colombian town on the Caribbean coast has declared a state of emergency in order to deal with thousands of migrants waiting for boats to begin one of the most treacherous migrant trails to the US.

Up to 15,000 people have arrived in the small coastal settlement of Necoclí in the last few weeks, leaving the town of 22,000 at breaking point. Hundreds more are arriving each day. The surge to join a migrant trail through the dangerous Darien Gap of uncharted rainforest has been triggered by a sharp economic downturn in Latin America.

The increase in migration is another headache for Joe Biden, who is struggling to deal with record numbers crossing the Mexico border to the US.

“All of the health system, public and food services have collapsed,” said Jorge Tobón, Necoclí mayor.

The vast majority of the migrants are Haitians, who had previously settled in other South American countries like Brazil and Chile.

Many worked in informal jobs before the pandemic and fell into extreme poverty as lockdowns and quarantine measures took hold.

Others have travelled from as far as Ghana, Mali and Togo.

Now they are seeking employment opportunities in the United States, and Colombia is just one stop on their long journey north.

“We lost everything when Rio went into lockdown,” one woman told local media. “I moved to Brazil from Haiti six years ago, but I was evicted two months ago when I couldn’t pay the rent. I lost my job as a cleaner. Now I have to take my chances in the US.”

Necoclí lies on the Gulf of Urabá, a stretch of water, which must be crossed to make it into neighbouring Panama. There is only one ferry company that can take migrants across the gulf and its capacity is stretched to the limit.

There is a waiting list of more than 8,000 travellers, according to the company’s owners. A flight from Colombia to Panama City costs as little as $75 (£54), but it is not an option for those travelling without papers.

The Colombian Red Cross has set up a tent on the beach to assist migrants.

“Colombia has become a transit country for tens of thousands of migrants heading to the US,” Juan Francisco Espinosa, the head of Migration Colombia, said at a press conference. “Most of these enter illegally from the south of the country or through Venezuela. The economic consequences of the pandemic have basically increased the recent flows of people.”

Once the migrants cross the Gulf of Urabá, they have to trek through the jungle of the Darien Gap to reach Panama before they head northwards through Central America. It is a dangerous crossing controlled by drug trafficking groups. Many migrants are murdered or raped during the 40-mile trip. Others succumb to the elements.

Last week, Diego Molano, Colombian defence minister, travelled to Necoclí.

He pledged the country’s navy would build a pier to allow more boats to ferry migrants across the gulf.