2023-09-25 16:47:45
The sun rises in Necoclí and long lines of migrants form in local grocery and variety stores looking for food and survival items to cross the Darién. Chinese migrants, loaded with dollars, take almost everything. The prices are not questioned, they only pay in cash or swipe their credit cards through the dataphone; On the other side, Venezuelans suspiciously count their wrinkled bills.
(We recommend you read: EL TIEMPO Exclusive: this is how the business of the ‘Colombian coyotes’ of Darién works)
Those from the neighboring country are treated like any other and the line moves at a snail’s pace, for those from the Asian giant, more cashiers appear to serve them quickly, it is important that they feel good, they are the ones who matter the most.
These are VIP migrants. These migrants, mostly from China and sometimes from India, have been arriving in greater numbers to Necoclí since 2022, when crossing the Darién jungle to fulfill the American dream became popular in those countries.
(Also read: The migrant mother who seeks to take her genius girl to the country of ‘opportunities’)
The journey across the Darien is a harrowing odyssey for migrants seeking a better life in the United States.
Photo:
Jaiver Nieto / CEET
The Chinese in Necoclí are a minority, compared to Haitians and especially Venezuelans, but they are increasing. According to the Panamanian government, more than 1,300 Chinese migrants crossed the Darien in 2022, triple the number in the previous 10 years.
The reason for taking this route, more than 15 thousand kilometers from their country and almost 4 thousand more from their goal, the migrants explain, is that due to the covid-19 control policies in China, it is very difficult for them to obtain visas to travel. to Central American countries, not to mention a US visa, since diplomatic relations between both countries are not going through their best moment.
(Also: Why is the death toll in Darién the highest since records have been recorded?)
The kings of the ride
In the town of Antioquia, on the shores of the Gulf of Urabá, most Chinese migrants look more like tourists than anything else. They stay in the best hotels and experience the most attractive side of the municipality, streets that, due to their beauty, can pass as some of those in the Historic Center of Cartagena.
While the Venezuelan migrants almost all live on the beach and the Haitians stay in houses, the Chinese stay in expensive hotels in Necoclí.
Photo:
Jaiver Nieto / CEET
They use a translator on their cell phone to tell them the name of what they sell and the strange thing is that many times they don’t ask for prices, they just hand over the dollars and that’s it.
The merchants and hoteliers of the municipality know that they are loaded with dollars and therefore deserve special attention. They are treated like kings.
“You see Chinese people everywhere in town buying with dollars or paying with credit cards. They use a translator on their cell phone to tell them the name of what they sell and the strange thing is that many times they don’t ask prices, they just ask They hand over the dollars and that’s it,” explained Virleidis Villadiego, who works in a hotel in the sector.
Because of this ease of spending without control, they are adored in the town, where vendors practically kiss the floor where these migrants walk.
They are seen with their iPhones walking through the streets of Necoclí with absolute confidence and almost without making eye contact with anyone, they are extremely reserved.
(More news from Darién: Why is Venezuela silent regarding the migration crisis in the Darién Gap?)
The passage through the Darien
For the Chinese, the passage through the Darién, currently controlled by the ‘Gulf clan’, is a very short procedure for the vast majority.
Other people offer them packages to travel from China to the United States directly and we know that they charge up to 30 thousand dollars for that trip.
Unlike Haitians and Venezuelans, the Chinese do not understand the dynamics of violence and mafias in South America, they really believe that it is – broadly speaking – a tourist guide for migrating, since some are contacted directly in that country, as revealed to EL TIEMPO a coyote that operates in the area.
“Other people offer them packages to travel from China to the United States directly and we know that they charge up to 30 thousand dollars for that trip, we only offer them the trip to Panama and we have two routes: Necoclí or San Andrés. Over here ( Necoclí) is the best,” explains the coyote Enrique.
Migrants must first arrive in Ecuador, one of the few countries that does not require a visa to travel, from there they go by bus to Necoclí. The usual route is Tulcán – Ipiales – Turbo – Necoclí.
(Also: Governor of Antioquia asks the Government for prioritized attention due to the crisis in Darién)
Rescue of migrants in the vicinity of San Andrés.
We charge each of them $2,500 for passage to Panama on an exclusive route only for those who can pay for it.
Upon arrival, they are hosted in hotels that front men of the ‘Gulf clan’ have or operate in Necoclí, explains the coyote, and they are there on the days indicated. “Generally they don’t last long here, they pay to get through quickly, but there are others who come with good money and like to spend a few more days in town on the beaches,” he adds.
They make the trip to Ecuador on their own and the illegal transaction with the coyotes really begins when they pass through the Gulf of Urabá to Panama.
“We charge each of them $2,500 for passage to Panama through an exclusive route only for those who can pay it. Almost always without Chinese those who can do it, but we also take people from Afghanistan, India and even Africans who have the money,” details.
(You can read: The new route that migrants would be using to cross the Darién)
According to the coyote, the boats where the VIP migrants are transported are not attached to any local company.
Photo:
Jaiver Nieto / CEET
This special route is usually done at night and lasts around 8 hours. The migrants are dropped off at a point in the Darién jungle from where they only have to walk one day to reach Bajo Chiquito, the first town in Panamanian territory.
There the bosses no longer have control, because there are other groups operating, but when they arrive in Panama there are other coyotes that take them through Central America.
“When they go down there they already depend on themselves. There the bosses no longer have control, because there are other groups operating, but when they arrive in Panama there are other coyotes that take them through Central America,” he adds.
But not all Chinese migrants have the thousands of dollars per head that they need for the VIP crossing through the Darien, those who do not have the resources, either because there are many of them, they were not able to sell all their belongings in China or they simply never had money. , they can opt for the other two lower level routes offered by the coyotes.
“They can smuggle drugs like most Haitians and are three days away from the border or they can take the long route (8 days) and cross the entire jungle from Acandí or Capurganá (Chocó),” explains Enrique.
(Also: ‘Do not expose your lives’: Panama warns about an increase in migrants through El Darién)
When stores run out of survival items, Chinese migrants buy from Venezuelan sellers.
Photo:
Jaiver Nieto / CEET
But with this last method there are really few Chinese who are currently passing through. During our tour and observation of the Necoclí docks we managed to see just under 20 Chinese migrants, in 5 groups, taking boats to cross to Chocó, for which the coyotes sell the tickets for 350 dollars per person.
However, what they do not tell the Chinese migrants who fall into the clutches of coyotes is that this special and expensive route they are taking has “security problems”, since, due to the long boat journeys, even many are carried out at night, since if they are discovered by the National Navy they are intercepted and left at the disposal of Migration Colombia.
“If they catch us on the way, they capture us and I think they are almost always returned to their country. But that is the price that has to be paid, we are clear about it and we know that we are prisoners, and here they are not returned. money to no one,” concludes the coyote.
DUVÁN ÁLVAREZ DE LAS SALAS
Special envoy of EL TIEMPO
In X: @Duvan_AD
1695667096
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